The Moura Fundamental Principle of Intelligence (FPI): A Universal Mechanism for Recursive Construction and Decomposition of Patterns

The Moura Fundamental Principle of Intelligence (FPI): A Universal Mechanism for Recursive Construction and Decomposition of Patterns Alex Moura Version 1. 0. 1 (proof-of-date deposit) This work proposes a universal, substrate-independent definition of intelligence: the Moura Fundamental Principle of Intelligence (FPI). Intelligence is defined as the recursive capacity to construct (C) and decompose (D) patterns across multiple levels of abstraction. The FPI introduces two primitive operators – Construction (learning, compression, synthesis) and Decomposition (analysis, contextualization, decompression) – and posits that intelligence emerges from their stable recursive interplay. The framework includes: a graded measure of intelligence via recursion depth D (S) ; decompositional integrity ID quantifying structural coherence after a C∘D cycle; a threshold τ defining the decompositional boundary, beyond which further recursion leads to epistemic simulation (Sₑ) ; four structural failure modes (decomposition collapse, epistemic masking, ornamental coherence, simulation dominance) ; domain separation (empirical vs. axiomatic) and a domain-calibrated reliability theorem. The FPI applies equally to biological intelligence (humans, dolphins, crows), artificial systems (LLMs, control systems, robots), and even hypothetical non-physical intelligences. It offers structural hypotheses for consciousness (as a boundary condition of decomposition) and for the evolutionary accumulation of recursive capacity. Concrete empirical validation pathways are provided: compression-based and latent-space proxies for ID, energy/time measurement of recursion cost, falsification experiments (the “Idiot Savant” and “Controlled Hallucination” tests), and a proposed benchmark (FPI-Bench) for comparing intelligence across substrates. This document is deposited as a proof-of-date record. The framework is open to empirical validation, refinement, and potential falsification. A companion operational protocol (CAMAF, DOI: 10. 5281/zenodo. 19076532) offers an epistemological audit layer. Keywords: intelligence; recursion; construction; decomposition; epistemology; integrity; simulation; domain calibration; consciousness; falsification; FPI; CAMAF