Ananke: A Constraint-First Framework for Reality, Interiority, and Physical Law

This whitepaper presents the Ananke Principle, a formal ontological model in which primordial constraint (the existence of forbidden transitions) is the sole primitive. From this minimal assumption, we construct a directed web of admissible state transitions and demonstrate how spacetime, quantum mechanics, and phenomenal interiority (consciousness) emerge as effective structures under coarse-graining and operational closure. A central result is the impossibility of complete external description for closed systems, which forces interior instantiation and dissolves the hard problem of consciousness. The framework derives time, causation, and explanation as non-fundamental interfaces. It is empirically falsifiable via a predicted signature of non-Gaussian phase noise at the Planck scale.