SCOPE, SCALE, PATHOLOGY: The Boundary Conditions of Semantic Physics

Semantic Physics (SP) proposes that meaning is not an emergent epiphenomenon but a physical process governed by lawful dynamics analogous to thermodynamics and field theory. This paper formalizes the axiomatic foundations of SP, identifying four necessary conditions for meaning-bearing systems (Gradient Existence, Membrane Definability, Dissipation, and Relational Structure) and five failure modes under which SP does not apply. We demonstrate that SP provides a unified framework for understanding phenomena across scales: from biological scaling laws to urban dynamics, from psychopathology to machine consciousness. The clinical application is particularly striking: depression, psychosis, ADHD, and borderline personality disorder map onto specific geometric defects in semantic space—gradient collapse, membrane hyperpermeability, phase incoherence, and boundary oscillation respectively. Empirical validation (ICC = 0.962, N > 33,000) supports the framework's predictive power. We conclude with the theory's self-application: SP must itself satisfy its own axioms, leading to the concept of a modal membrane that marks the boundary between actual and possible meaning-configurations.