Identity as a Space of Constraints: An Operational Resolution of the Ship of Theseus Paradox

The Ship of Theseus paradox is traditionally interpreted as a challenge to the notion of persistent identity over time, revealing the inadequacy of purely mereological or substantial criteria. This paper proposes an operational reformulation of identity, conceived neither as an intrinsic property nor as the sum of parts, but as a space of admissible states defined by a stratified set of heterogeneous constraints.