Inherited Constraints and Present Necessity: A Framework for Architectural Reassessment

This preprint proposes a bounded method for reassessing persistent architectural restrictions. It traces their origin and current carriers, separates a protected requirement from its historical implementation, and compares feasible alternatives under declared boundaries, objectives and risk limits. Exact and functional necessity are distinguished over acceptable feasible alternatives. The paper specifies a reassessment record, governed dispositions and three testable hypotheses. The contribution is a proposed integration of neighboring work on path dependence, requirements, safety, architecture, feedback and causal inference. The two applications are hypothetical. No original dataset, measured intervention, independent case reconstruction, cross-domain validation, independent replication or universal law is reported. Formal counterexample consequences depend on stipulated definitions and verified candidate membership. The accompanying supporting record preserves claim status, open objections, limitations and research provenance. Substantial AI assistance in drafting, synthesis, formalization and editorial restructuring is disclosed; it is not independent scientific validation.