Relational Actualism IV: Complexity, Life, and Recursive Closure in Discrete Causal Networks

Relational Actualism IV extends the framework to complexity, life, and cognition. Using the same discrete causal model, the paper investigates the conditions under which organized systems can sustain persistent boundaries and exhibit recursive closure. It introduces the Causal Firewall, a set of structural conditions for a stable, self-maintaining organization based on redundant boundary inscription and bounded boundary turnover. Rather than relying on specific biochemical or informational substrates, the framework proposes substrate-independent conditions for life-like organization. The paper connects causal-network structure to biological organization, origin-of-life constraints, biosignatures, and agency, while identifying open problems in persistence, prebiotic modeling, and cognition.