Iterative Causal Refinement (ICR): A Unified Framework for Emergent Causation Across Prebiotic Evolution, Biology, and Cognition

This archive contains the full development package for the Iterative Causal Refinement (ICR) framework — a unified theoretical and computational model describing how self-sustaining causal structures emerge, stabilise, and evolve across multiple domains, including prebiotic chemistry, biological evolution, ecological feedback loops, and cognitive systems. The package includes: ICR_Paper.pdf — full scientific manuscript draft ICR_Paper.md — markdown source for editing Figures/ — placeholder structure for future diagrams Code/ — template directory for simulation scripts Data/ — placeholder directory for future empirical outputs README.md — documentation of package architecture The ICR framework proposes a unifying principle: that complex systems refine and stabilise causal templates through iterative feedback, efficiency–robustness trade-offs, and environmental constraints. The framework links biological selection, viral dynamics, cognitive persistence, and ecological oscillations into a single causal-refinement model. This deposit provides the foundation for public review, replication, and further scholarly development.