The Non-Violation Criterion: A Necessary Condition for Retentive Ontologies

This paper introduces the Non-Violation Criterion (NVC) as a necessary condition for any ontology that claims genuine retention. The criterion establishes a minimal boundary between retention and intervention, showing that persistence dependent on external acts of extraction, coercive modification, or enforced optimization cannot qualify as retentive. Rather than proposing a new model of persistence, the paper formulates a formal constraint applicable across metaphysics, philosophy of physics, and post-dynamical frameworks. By distinguishing internally sustained coherence from externally regulated endurance, the Non-Violation Criterion clarifies the ontological limits of action-based accounts of stability and provides a foundational test for claims of retention across physical, informational, biological, and conceptual domains.