The Logic of the Aversive Load

This paper develops a unifying “Logic of Aversive Loads” (AL) in which emotion, cognition, motivation, and behavior are organized around minimizing expected aversive load over nested time horizons. AL is formalized as a dynamic configuration of co-active components (e.g., physical, social, uncertainty, identity, existential) with a generic change metric that tracks experienced relief vs. accrual. The theory reframes pain as a subset of aversive states; emotion as fast, evolved AL-reduction programs; cognition as learned substitution under felt safety; and joy as the subjective signal of AL decline. Four axioms ground the framework: a universal reduction principle, temporal nesting, an economy of pain avoidance, and a priority/ safety switch that privileges primary alarms over secondary loads. Psychopathology is modeled as over-stabilized AL-regulation portfolios (e.g., amplitude suppression in depression, hypervigilance in anxiety, artificially lowered baselines with rebound in addiction). Social bonds, religion, and culture emerge as collectively stabilized AL-reduction systems. Scope: This is Paper A (Theory). A companion Paper B will connect AL to current models and findings derive testable hypotheses, specify falsification criteria, and outline methodology.