The Minimal Operational Decomposition of Reason and Representation as Operational-Shape Concepts Minimal Notation, Mineral and Material Operations, Sensorial Assemblages, AI and Robotics, Autonomous Science, and Xenoscience

This paper investigates the operational conditions under which reason and representation emerge, persist, transform, and cease to function across heterogeneous material, scientific, and institutional configurations. It develops a minimal operational decomposition distinguishing physical implementation, picturing, inferential justification, rational revision, and downstream real effects. Through engagements with Wilfrid Sellars, Ray Brassier, and Peter Wolfendale, the paper examines the conditions under which these relations remain operative or lose their applicability. Finite formal models clarify the limited independence of selected operational distinctions. Mineral processes, sensor assemblages, robotics, and autonomous science provide comparative configurations. The analysis extends to historical re-entry, institutional authority, and Xenoscience while preserving the distinction between scientific justification and material efficacy. The resulting account establishes conditional operational comparisons without claiming a universal minimum of reason or representation.