Rival-Constitution Principle

Canonical definition

The Rival-Constitution Principle states that in any relationship of internal mediation the rival is architecturally embedded in the Subject's Self-Model as the constitutive reference point against which M-grounded self-valuation is computed, so that the Individual's identity is partially defined by contrast with the rival and the dependence deepens with proximity and similarity. It has three structural consequences: mimetic rivals converge behaviourally while each Self-Model insists on maximal differentiation; resentment of the rival operates as Self-Model maintenance; and removal of the rival produces Self-Model disruption disproportionate to the rival's apparent significance, followed by the identification of a replacement. The concealment of this constitutive dependence is the Romantic Lie of Self-Constitution.