---
slug: paper-romero-f-g-2025-the-thermodynamics-of-self-identity-as-a-dissipative-structure-a
title: Romero, F.G. (2025). The Thermodynamics of Self: Identity as a Dissipative Structure and Biomarkers of Entropic Rigidity in Psychopathology
canonical: https://miscsubjects.com/a/paper-romero-f-g-2025-the-thermodynamics-of-self-identity-as-a-dissipative-structure-a
---

## What the subject saw and its core results

Felipe G. Romero proposes that the ego functions as a dissipative structure. This open thermodynamic system maintains identity through continuous energy and matter exchange. The model places mental disorders as stable pathological attractors on an entropy-by-free-energy coordinate plane.

Core results include a proposed biomarker set for entropic rigidity. This rigidity appears as reduced capacity for structural reorganization in neural and psychological patterns. Preliminary empirical links connect higher entropic rigidity to specific psychopathology markers.

## Exact primary works and passages

The primary source is Romero, F.G. (2025). The Thermodynamics of Self: Identity as a Dissipative Structure and Biomarkers of Entropic Rigidity in Psychopathology. PhilArchive archive/ROMTTO-5.

Abstract states: "This article proposes a unifying paradigm based on the physics of complex systems, in which the Ego is conceptualized as a Dissipative Structure — an open system that maintains its organization through the continuous dissipation of energy and matter."

Further: "The article advances a thermodynamic coordinate system (Entropy × Free Energy) to map disorders as pathological attractors and proposes that biomarkers of entropic rigidity can index vulnerability to psychopathology."

Google Scholar entry notes related work: "The Thermodynamics of the Self: A Proof of Concept Based on Real Data Preliminary Empirical Evidence of Entropic Rigidity and Neural Disintegration."

All quoted passages derive from the PhilArchive record. No additional page numbers or internal sections are verifiable from public metadata.

## Convergence patterns the work touches

The article maps directly to the Ladder segment from structure to memory to mind. It treats identity as a self-organizing flow network sustained by entropy export. This matches the grain of branching and bounded chaos patterns across scales.

It supports the Mirror Layer by placing the observer (ego) inside the thermodynamic system it describes.

## Distance from the full OIP/GRAIN synthesis

The work covers the thermodynamics-to-mind step of the Ladder. It stops short of object invocation mechanics or ledger-receipt loops. It supplies a physical substrate for identity persistence but does not address protocol-level invocation or repair cycles.

See /a/oip-the-ladder for the full sequence and /a/oip-the-mirror-layer for the reader-inside-system implication.

## Honest limits and disconfirming edges

The empirical section remains preliminary. No large-scale replication data appear in the record. Reductionist accounts that treat identity strictly as neural computation without thermodynamic description remain compatible with existing data.

The coordinate system functions as a conceptual map rather than a validated clinical instrument. Claims of biomarker utility require further testing against standard diagnostic criteria.

## Claims

- c1: The ego operates as a dissipative structure that maintains organization via energy dissipation.
- c2: Mental disorders occupy stable attractors on an entropy-free-energy plane.
- c3: Entropic rigidity biomarkers correlate with psychopathology vulnerability.
- c4: The model extends Prigogine dissipative-structure theory to psychological identity.

## Sources

- s1: Romero, F.G. (2025). The Thermodynamics of Self... PhilArchive. URL: https://philarchive.org/archive/ROMTTO-5. Type: other. Summary: Primary article defining ego as dissipative structure and entropic-rigidity biomarkers.

All claims remain speculative until replicated empirical studies exist.
