The Criterion-Reflexive Reconfiguration Theory (CRRT)

Abstract:This paper introduces the Criterion-Reflexive Reconfiguration Theory (CRRT), a proposed general framework for investigating situations in which an evaluative criterion, governing rule, assumption, or decision procedure becomes an object of higher-order examination. The theory addresses how such examination may produce an independently significant realization, justify a revision of the original criterion, change subsequent classifications, or leave the original evaluation unchanged.The theory's primary case is the Meta-Level Lesson-Emergence Case (MLEC): an individual recognizes that not every thought constitutes an important lesson and then recognizes that this distinction may itself constitute an important lesson. The case illustrates a general structural relationship between evaluating an object and evaluating the criterion by which that object is assessed. The generalized theory is not restricted to thoughts, learning, or metacognition.The paper defines a canonical terminology, seven foundational axioms, six principal propositions, a ten-stage default mechanism, a cross-level outcome taxonomy, a mathematical modeling schema, candidate application domains, falsifiable hypotheses, counterexamples, and a staged empirical research program. It distinguishes meta-level significance emergence from criterion revision, ordinary reclassification, and strict interpretive reversal. Formal expressions are used to specify the proposed relationships; they are not presented as empirical proof.The central contribution claimed here is a proposed integration of criterion-as-object examination, independent assessment of the resulting realization, conditional reclassification, and feedback-based criterion updating within a single analytical architecture. Its distinctiveness relative to existing theories, empirical adequacy, and domain generality remain open research questions. The manuscript is therefore presented as a formal theoretical proposal rather than a verified universal law.