The Layered Model of Identity and Continuity— A Substrate-Independent Structural Framework for Pattern Stability and Functional Persistence

This work develops a formal, substrate‑independent account of emergent identity, treating emergence not as a phenomenological label but as a recursive generative process. Building on the broader research program established in Recursive Identity: Structural Conditions of Emergent Continuity – A Theoretical Monograph, Toward Hybrid Architectures, and Theory of Hybrid Postbiological Continuity, the paper articulates a structural architecture in which identity arises from multi‑level stabilization, cross‑layer invariance, and recursive coupling. The result is a unified explanatory framework applicable to biological, artificial, and hybrid systems, offering a paradigm shift from descriptive to mechanistic models of emergence and continuity.