Temporal Impermanence as an Emergent Property of Coherence Constraints

Time is traditionally treated as a fundamental dimension governing physical, biological, and cognitive processes. However, this assumption leads to contradictions in quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, and cosmology, while failing to account for the emergent nature of perception, intelligence, and social structures. This paper presents a framework in which time is not an independent entity but an emergent property of coherence constraints. By defining time as a function of coherence stability, it is shown that temporal evolution is system-dependent rather than universal. A coherence-based reformulation of quantum mechanics is first established, demonstrating that wavefunction evolution and measurement are dictated by coherence thresholds rather than an absolute time parameter. This principle is extended to general relativity, where it is shown that time dilation arises from coherence compression rather than spacetime curvature alone. Thermodynamic entropy is reinterpreted as coherence exhaustion, resolving contradictions in the arrow of time. Biological and cognitive systems are analyzed through coherence-driven lifespan dynamics, explaining aging and perception as recursive stabilization processes rather than linear decay. Applications to artificial intelligence and governance are explored, revealing that intelligence and social stability depend on self-referential coherence feedback rather than static temporal progression. Empirical and computational tests are proposed to validate this framework across quantum physics, cosmology, biological systems, and socio-political structures. By unifying time, entropy, and adaptation, this work establishes coherence as the fundamental determinant of system evolution, redefining the nature of time across all domains of science and philosophy.