The Intentional-Structural Asymmetry Theory (ISAT)

The Intentional-Structural Asymmetry Theory (ISAT) is proposed as a two-branch conceptual and mathematical framework for examining discrepancies between an actual system state and an intended or desired state. Its central problem concerns the relationship between an intention to alter a target-relevant property and the structural possibilities available for realizing that intention.The proposed architecture distinguishes two principal branches. In Branch I, the target is reachable within a declared transformation scope. Situational barriers may be present, absent, or time-varying, and conflict-related outcomes, including temporary paradox-like experiences or practical dilemmas, may occur or may not occur. In Branch II, the target is unreachable within the declared system boundary and admissible transformation class. If the original intention remains active, the intention-state discrepancy persists above a specified threshold. External and internal pressure are not defining requirements of this branch.The framework separates discrepancy, psychological conflict, structural inaccessibility, phenomenological paradox, practical dilemma, and strict logical contradiction. It formalizes actual states, target sets, admissible transformations, reachable-state sets, pressure indicators, persistence measures, and conditional outcome classifications. It also specifies eight theoretical layers, six core research domains, a fourteen-step construction protocol, thirty planned analytical cases, and a falsifiable empirical validation agenda.The manuscript is theoretical and methodological. It does not report completed human-subject experiments, empirical parameter estimates, or evidence that ISAT constitutes a novel or universally valid scientific law. Its contribution is presented as a candidate formal architecture whose conceptual distinctness, predictive value, and empirical adequacy require comparison with existing psychological, philosophical, and control-theoretic accounts.