Before Persistence I: The Authorization of Metaphysical Relata

Metaphysical theories of persistence traditionally begin with an already selected bearer. This paper argues that the selection of such a bearer constitutes a prior metaphysical problem that cannot be settled by persistence criteria themselves. Before asking how something persists, metaphysics must ask why that entity is entitled to function as the bearer of persistence at all. I introduce the Diachronic Relatum Eligibility Framework (DREF), which identifies the prior authorization conditions under which relata become eligible for metaphysical analysis. Persistence is a secondary question concerning already authorized bearers. The central thesis: authorization precedes relation.