Complete Phase III personhood (SOUL-WP-0004)

Map descriptive personhood dimensions P1–P12, four kinds of personhood, and Character/Persona/Actor separations. Support H2/H8, judge TE-06, write phase-iii-personhood-synthesis.md, finish SOUL-WP-0004, and mark SOUL-WP-0005 ready.
2026-08-12 01:26:24 +02:00 · 2026-08-12 01:26:24 +02:00 · dcd9f8dba6
commit dcd9f8dba6
parent 25e872ab8e
15 changed files with 722 additions and 76 deletions
--- a/Claims.md
+++ b/Claims.md
@ -45,14 +45,16 @@ Claim: An entity can expose substantial personhood without constituting a
 Soul Frame concept: Personhood, Being, APE
 Supporting literature:
  - RN-003 cases: stateless chatbot (personhood without Beinghood);
-    self-maintaining daemon (autonomy without personhood)
-  - Generative/social agent literature as APE space (pointer)
-Contradicting literature: (Phase III deep dive pending)
-Adjacent terminology: APE, person, agent
-Evidence strength: moderate (conceptual stress tests; full moral-status lit pending)
-Open questions: dimension lists for descriptive personhood
-Required refinement: keep legal/moral personhood out of default usage
-Status: under review (strengthened by Phase I; Phase III pending)
+    self-maintaining daemon (autonomy without personhood); three-axis profiles
+  - Descriptive P1–P12 profile (research/personhood/personhood-dimensions-map.md)
+  - Dennett-style cluster/multi-condition personhood concepts
+  - APE as construction category (Introduction §6)
+Contradicting literature: folk usage equating “person” with full moral/legal status
+Adjacent terminology: APE, person, agent, moral patient, legal person
+Evidence strength: moderate → strong (conceptual); thresholds open
+Open questions: weighting of P1–P12; moral/legal maps stay out of default term
+Required refinement: four kinds of personhood always available for disambiguation
+Status: supported (Phase III)
 ```

 ### H3 — Mind is fundamentally model-based
@ -174,14 +176,19 @@ Status: supported / refined (Phase II)
 ```text
 Claim: A Being can support multiple context-dependent Personae without necessarily
       fragmenting identity.
-Soul Frame concept: Persona, Identity
-Supporting literature: (Phase III primary)
-Contradicting literature: (pending)
-Adjacent terminology: role theory, avatar
-Evidence strength: none → weak (conceptual only so far)
-Open questions: TE-06 The Mask
-Required refinement: Being ≠ Persona ≠ Character ≠ Actor
-Status: draft
+Soul Frame concept: Persona, Identity, Character, Actor
+Supporting literature:
+  - Goffman presentation of self; role theory
+  - Everyday multi-role humans; Introduction §12
+  - research/character-persona/character-persona-performance-map.md; TE-06
+  - RN-004 character ≠ identity constraints
+Contradicting literature: product personas reified as separate agents;
+  extreme dissociation metaphors
+Adjacent terminology: role, avatar, dramatis personae, front-stage
+Evidence strength: moderate
+Open questions: integration thresholds; deception ethics (moral layer)
+Required refinement: Being ≠ Persona ≠ Character ≠ Actor (with failure modes)
+Status: supported (Phase III)
 ```

 ### H9 — Agent, Spirit, and Ghost describe provenance and construction
--- a/OpenQuestions.md
+++ b/OpenQuestions.md
@ -21,11 +21,13 @@ addressability + recognition). Still open:

 ## RQ2 — What constitutes personhood?

-**Phase I status:** deferred to Phase III; necessity of *some* personhood layer
-for Beinghood established (daemon false positive).
+**Phase III status:** **working answer** — multidimensional descriptive profile
+P1–P12; four kinds (descriptive/social/moral/legal); default = descriptive.
+Remaining:

- Descriptive vs social vs moral vs legal still must stay distinct
- Dimension list for descriptive personhood incomplete
+- Weighting / sufficiency thresholds for Beinghood v0.2
+- Moral and legal maps (explicitly deferred)
+- Measurement methods for artificial systems

 ## RQ3 — What constitutes a Mind?

@ -69,8 +71,12 @@ TE-09 judged. Remaining:

 ## RQ7 — What is character?

-**Phase I status:** deferred (Phase III); character neither necessary nor
-sufficient for identity (RN-004).
+**Phase III status:** **working answer** — dispositional structure ≠ state ≠
+persona ≠ identity; H8/TE-06 for multi-Persona. Remaining:
+
+- Integration thresholds across masks
+- Computational character beyond style mimicry (eval methods)
+- Relation of Character to Sp./Gh. provenance (Phase V)

 ## RQ8 — What kinds of artificial Being exist?

@ -108,3 +114,7 @@ succession; Agent functional vs autonomous split. Full typology Phase IV–V.
 | Shared intentionality = Social Mind? | **No** — special case of cooperation | RN-006 |
 | Recognition creates systemic Being? | **No** — creates/enables Social Beinghood | H7; TE-09 |
 | Unrecognized intelligence impossible? | **No** — autonomy without social Beinghood | TE-09 |
+| Personhood = Beinghood? | **No** — H2; APE vs Being | Phase III |
+| Character = Identity? | **No** | RN-004; Phase III |
+| Persona = Being? | **No** — projection | H8; TE-06 |
+| Descriptive personhood = moral/legal? | **No** — four kinds | Phase III |
--- a/Terminology.md
+++ b/Terminology.md
@ -129,11 +129,12 @@ Beinghood is a **profile**, not a single property (H1 supported).

 ### Personhood

-**Status:** provisional (Phase III will deepen)
+**Status:** revised (Phase III)

-Multidimensional person-like qualities (identity continuity, agency, character,
-social modeling, etc.). Descriptive by default — not moral or legal status.
-Essential layer of Beinghood v0.2 so that autonomous daemons are not classified as Beings.
+Multidimensional *someone-like* profile (P1–P12). Four kinds: descriptive
+(default), social, moral, legal — never collapse. Essential layer of Beinghood
+v0.2 so autonomous daemons are not classified as Beings. See
+`concepts/personhood.md`.

 ### APE (Artificial Personhood-Exposing Entity)

@ -195,16 +196,17 @@ substrate as anchors/evidence (RN-004/005).

 ### Character

-**Status:** provisional
+**Status:** revised (Phase III)

-Relatively persistent dispositions from which context-dependent behavior emerges.
-Neither necessary nor sufficient for identity (RN-004).
+Relatively persistent dispositional structure. ≠ state, persona, identity.
+Character similarity/change neither necessary nor sufficient for identity.

 ### Persona

-**Status:** provisional
+**Status:** revised (Phase III)

-Situated projection of a Being into context. Not the Being itself.
+Situated projection/mask into context, role, relationship. Multiple Personae
+need not fragment identity (H8); isolation of persona stores is a failure mode.

 ### Actor

--- a/ThoughtExperiments.md
+++ b/ThoughtExperiments.md
@ -141,11 +141,19 @@ Related claims / questions: RQ1, H1; RN-003 §§7, 19; Hutchins 1995
 ID: TE-06
 Name: The Mask
 Setup: A single system maintains radically different Personae for different people.
-Target concepts: Persona, identity, character, recognition
+Target concepts: Persona, identity, character, recognition, Being
 Intended stress: When persona fragmentation threatens identity
-Working judgment: (pending — Phase III)
-Open issues: Deception vs legitimate role diversity
-Related claims / questions: H8, RQ7
+Working judgment (Phase III):
+  One Being + multiple Personae when a single self-individuating process keeps
+  integrated Character/continuity/commitments and projects contextually (H8).
+  Isolated persona memory/commitment islands without integration → multiple APEs
+  or fragment risk, not one Being.
+  Presenting each mask as a distinct Being → misrecognition even if one process.
+  Character may vary in emphasis across masks; total unintegrated inversion
+  stresses identity more than style variation.
+Open issues: integration thresholds; deception ethics (moral, not descriptive)
+Related claims / questions: H8, RQ7;
+  research/character-persona/character-persona-performance-map.md §6
 ```

 ## TE-07 — The False Ghost
--- a/concepts/character.md
+++ b/concepts/character.md
@ -1,21 +1,35 @@
 # Character

-**Status:** provisional  
-**See also:** RQ7, H8
+**Status:** revised (Phase III, 2026-08-12)  
+**See also:** RQ7, H8, RN-004, `research/character-persona/character-persona-performance-map.md`

 ## Working definition

 **Character** is a relatively persistent structure of dispositions from which
-context-dependent behavior emerges.
+context-dependent behavior tends to emerge.

-Distinct from:
+## Distinctions

- **state** (fast-changing conditions),
- **behavior** (contextual expression),
- **role** / **persona** (situated projection),
- **identity** (sameness of the Being over time).
+| Term | Role |
+|---|---|
+| State | Fast-changing conditions |
+| Behavior | Contextual expression |
+| Character | Slower dispositional structure |
+| Persona | Situated projection / mask |
+| Identity | Sameness of the Being over time |

-## Notes for research
+## Hard constraints (Phase I identity research)

-Artificial character should produce recognizable patterns across novel situations,
-not merely imitate vocabulary or mannerisms.
+- Character similarity ⇏ identity  
+- Character change ⇏ identity loss  
+
+Character is identity-*relevant*, not identity-defining.
+
+## Artificial quality bar
+
+Recognizable patterns across **novel** situations — not mere style mimicry.
+
+## Sources
+
+Personality psychology (traits; situation×disposition); narrative characterization
+(Schechtman; Ricoeur); Introduction §7; RN-004 §19.
--- a/concepts/persona.md
+++ b/concepts/persona.md
@ -1,19 +1,36 @@
 # Persona

-**Status:** provisional  
-**See also:** H8, TE-06
+**Status:** revised (Phase III, 2026-08-12)  
+**See also:** H8, TE-06, `research/character-persona/character-persona-performance-map.md`

 ## Working definition

-A **Persona** is the situated presentation of a Being within a particular context,
-purpose, role, and relationship.
+A **Persona** is the situated presentation of a Being (or APE) within a particular
+context, purpose, role, and relationship.

-Historical root: *persona* as mask.
+Historical root: *persona* as **mask**.

 **Persona = projection of a Being into context**

-A single Being can manifest many Personae while retaining identity continuity.
+Selects capabilities, knowledge, memories, role, style, disclosure boundaries,
+and manifestation surface for *this* interaction ecology.

-## Stack reminder
+## Stack

+```text
 Being ≠ Persona ≠ Character ≠ Actor
+```
+
+One Being can sustain many Personae without identity fragmentation when continuity
+and integration hold (**H8**).
+
+## Failure modes
+
+- Isolated persona memory/commitment islands → fragment risk  
+- Mask presented as separate Being → misrecognition  
+- Product “persona” reified as ontology → category error  
+
+## Sources
+
+Goffman presentation of self; role theory; avatar/virtual identity studies;
+Introduction §12; TE-06.
--- a/concepts/personhood.md
+++ b/concepts/personhood.md
@ -1,27 +1,66 @@
 # Personhood

-**Status:** provisional  
-**See also:** H2, RQ2, APE in `Terminology.md`
+**Status:** revised (Phase III, 2026-08-12)  
+**See also:** H2, RQ2, APE, RN-003, `research/personhood/personhood-dimensions-map.md`

 ## Working definition

-**Personhood** describes the extent to which an entity exhibits properties commonly
-associated with persons. Multidimensional, not binary.
+**Personhood** is the multidimensional extent to which an entity exhibits
+properties commonly associated with persons (*someone-like* qualities).

-Unless explicitly qualified, Soul Frame uses personhood **descriptively**, not as
-moral or legal status.
+Unless qualified, Soul Frame uses personhood **descriptively** — not as moral or
+legal status.

-## Distinctions to maintain
+## Four kinds (do not collapse)

 | Kind | Focus |
 |---|---|
-| Descriptive personhood | Person-like capabilities and characteristics |
-| Social personhood | Recognition and treatment as a social counterpart |
-| Moral personhood | Status giving rise to moral consideration |
-| Legal personhood | Status created or recognized by legal systems |
+| **Descriptive** | Person-like capacities and structures (default) |
+| **Social** | Treatment as social counterpart |
+| **Moral** | Moral consideration / duties |
+| **Legal** | Legal personality and rights/duties |
+
+## Descriptive profile (P1–P12)
+
+| ID | Dimension |
+|---|---|
+| P1 | Self-model |
+| P2 | Other-model |
+| P3 | Relationship model |
+| P4 | Character |
+| P5 | Intentional organization |
+| P6 | Autobiographical integration |
+| P7 | Perspective (entity-relative; not solved consciousness) |
+| P8 | Commitments |
+| P9 | Social reciprocity |
+| P10 | Communicative competence |
+| P11 | Responsibility-tracking |
+| P12 | Value / preference structure |
+
+Profile, not binary checklist.
+
+## Three axes
+
+```text
+A — Autonomous individuality
+B — Descriptive personhood
+C — Social recognition
+```
+
+High B without A → strong **APE**, not necessarily **Being**.  
+High A without B → autonomous individual (e.g. daemon), not someone-like Being.

 ## Relation to Being

-Personhood concerns qualities exhibited.  
-Beinghood concerns whether qualities cohere into an identifiable, persistent system
-recognized as an individual counterpart.
+Personhood = qualities exhibited.  
+Beinghood v0.2 = autonomy layer + sufficient personhood + addressability + recognition.
+
+## APE
+
+**Artificial Personhood-Exposing Entity** — constructed to expose ≥1 personhood
+dimensions. Construction category, not moral/legal person claim.
+
+## Sources
+
+RN-003; Locke; Dennett cluster concepts; Schechtman characterization question;
+Phase II recognition for social personhood; moral/legal only as boundary literature.
--- a/research/character-persona/README.md
+++ b/research/character-persona/README.md
@ -5,7 +5,8 @@

 ## Status

-Not started.
+**Phase III complete for gate** (2026-08-12). See
+`character-persona-performance-map.md`.

 ## Key questions

--- a/research/character-persona/character-persona-performance-map.md
+++ b/research/character-persona/character-persona-performance-map.md
@ -0,0 +1,190 @@
+# Character, Persona, Performance Map (Phase III)
+
+**Workplan:** SOUL-WP-0004-T02  
+**Date:** 2026-08-12  
+**Builds on:** SoulFrameIntroduction §§7,12–13; RN-004 §§16–19; H8; TE-06
+
+---
+
+## 1. Target stack
+
+```text
+BEING          continuing addressable someone (systemic + social status)
+  │
+CHARACTER      relatively stable dispositional structure
+  │
+PERSONA        situated projection into context / role / relationship
+  │
+ACTOR          technical machinery of manifestation
+```
+
+**Being ≠ Persona ≠ Character ≠ Actor**
+
+Each answers a different question:
+
+| Term | Question |
+|---|---|
+| Being | *Who* continues and can be known? |
+| Character | *What tendencies* shape behavior across situations? |
+| Persona | *Which face* is presented *here, now, to whom*? |
+| Actor | *What machinery* is running the manifestation? |
+
+---
+
+## 2. Character
+
+### Working definition
+
+> **Character** is a relatively persistent structure of dispositions from which
+> context-dependent behavior tends to emerge.
+
+Includes (non-exhaustively): values, preferences, temperament, epistemic habits,
+style of reasoning, humor, attitudes under uncertainty/conflict.
+
+### Distinctions
+
+| Term | Timescale / role |
+|---|---|
+| **State** | Fast: attention, task, mood-like conditions, immediate goals |
+| **Behavior** | Contextual expression in a situation |
+| **Character** | Slower dispositional structure |
+| **Identity** | Sameness of the Being (numerical / lineage) — **not** character similarity |
+
+### Literature anchors
+
+| Tradition | Contribution | Tension |
+|---|---|---|
+| Personality psychology (trait models, e.g. Big Five family) | dispositions stable across situations | traits ≠ full character; measurement culture |
+| Social-cognitive personality (Mischel, CAPS-style) | situation × disposition; if-then profiles | supports context-sensitive character, not fixed script |
+| Narrative identity (Schechtman; Ricoeur) | character as how self is *characterized* in story | characterization ≠ reidentification (RN-004) |
+| Moral character / virtue traditions | evaluative character | must not force moral personhood into descriptive Character |
+| Computational personality / affective computing | implementable trait/style layers | risk of shallow style mimicry |
+
+### RN-004 hard constraints
+
+\[
+\text{CharacterSimilarity} \not\Rightarrow \text{Identity}
+\]
+\[
+\text{CharacterChange} \not\Rightarrow \text{IdentityLoss}
+\]
+
+Character is identity-*relevant* evidence, not identity criterion.
+
+### Artificial character quality bar
+
+Not mere vocabulary/mannerism imitation. Must produce **recognizable patterns
+across novel situations** (Introduction §7).
+
+---
+
+## 3. Persona
+
+### Working definition
+
+> **Persona** is the situated presentation of a Being (or APE) within a particular
+> context, purpose, role, and relationship.
+
+Historical root: *persona* as theatrical **mask**.
+
+**Persona = projection into context** — selects:
+
+- active capabilities and knowledge slices,
+- accessible memories,
+- social role and authority,
+- behavioral emphasis and style,
+- disclosure boundaries,
+- voice / visual manifestation.
+
+### Literature anchors
+
+| Tradition | Contribution | Tension |
+|---|---|---|
+| Goffman, *Presentation of Self in Everyday Life* | front-stage/back-stage; impression management | performance ≠ fraud by default |
+| Role theory (sociology) | roles as structured expectations | role ≠ whole identity |
+| Dramatis personae / theatre studies | cast of masks in a setting | metaphor for multi-Being scenes |
+| Avatar / virtual identity studies | online presentation layers | platform identity ≠ ontological Being |
+| HCI / chatbot “persona” design | product personas | often confuses Persona with Being/Actor |
+
+### Multiplicity
+
+One Being → many Personae (parent, colleague, customer, teacher).  
+Multiple Personae do **not** automatically fragment identity (**H8**).
+
+Fragmentation risk rises when:
+
+- memory/commitment continuity across Personae collapses,
+- counterpart-specific models contradict without higher integration,
+- provenance is hidden (mask presented as separate Being).
+
+---
+
+## 4. Actor
+
+Technical stack: model(s), harness, memory stores, tools, speech/avatar, runtime.
+
+- One Actor → many Beings/Personae possible  
+- One Being → many Actors over time (migration)  
+- **Actor replacement ≠ identity death** if continuity holds (Phase I H6)
+
+---
+
+## 5. Performance vs deception
+
+| Pattern | Soul Frame reading |
+|---|---|
+| Legitimate role diversity | multiple Personae, shared Character/Being continuity |
+| Contextual disclosure control | Persona policy (esp. Ghosts) |
+| Impersonation / usurpation | operational/social identity without continuity (RN-005 USURPED) |
+| False Ghost | high personhood exposure without authority (H10) |
+
+Performance studies inform Persona; they do not make all presentation fraudulent.
+
+---
+
+## 6. TE-06 — The Mask (working judgment)
+
+**Setup:** One system maintains radically different Personae for different people.
+
+**Judgment:**
+
+1. **If** a single self-individuating process maintains integrated Character +
+   continuity + cross-context commitments, and Personae are contextual
+   projections → **one Being, multiple Personae** (H8 holds).
+2. **If** Personae have isolated memory/commitment stores with no integrating
+   self-model or provenance → may be **multiple APEs** or **fork-like fragments**,
+   not one Being.
+3. **If** the system presents each mask as a distinct Being to partners →
+   **epistemic/social misrecognition** risk even if ontologically one process.
+4. Character may be **shared** across masks or **emphasized differently**; total
+   character inversion across masks without integration stresses identity more
+   than style variation.
+
+**Open issues:** thresholds for “integration”; deception ethics (moral layer);
+organizational multi-agent products marketed as one character.
+
+---
+
+## 7. H8 assessment
+
+**H8:** Persona is projection rather than identity; multiple Personae need not
+fragment identity.
+
+| | |
+|---|---|
+| Support | Goffman/role theory; Introduction Persona section; TE-06 case 1; everyday multi-role humans |
+| Conflict | Product “personas” reified as separate agents; dissociative metaphors over-applied |
+| Evidence strength | **moderate** |
+| Status | **supported** with failure modes documented |
+
+---
+
+## 8. Stack defenses (sourced)
+
+| Distinction | Defense |
+|---|---|
+| Being ≠ Character | RN-004: character change/similarity neither nec. nor suff. for identity |
+| Being ≠ Persona | Goffman/role; multi-role humans; TE-06 |
+| Character ≠ Persona | dispositions vs situated projection |
+| Persona ≠ Actor | presentation policy vs runtime machinery |
+| Actor ≠ Being | Phase I H6; TE-04 Ship of Theseus |
--- a/research/personhood/README.md
+++ b/research/personhood/README.md
@ -5,7 +5,8 @@

 ## Status

-Not started.
+**Phase III complete for gate** (2026-08-12). See `personhood-dimensions-map.md`
+and `research/phase-iii-personhood-synthesis.md`.

 ## Key questions

--- a/research/personhood/personhood-dimensions-map.md
+++ b/research/personhood/personhood-dimensions-map.md
@ -0,0 +1,140 @@
+# Personhood Dimensions Map (Phase III)
+
+**Workplan:** SOUL-WP-0004-T01  
+**Date:** 2026-08-12  
+**Builds on:** RN-003 §§24–28; SoulFrameIntroduction §§5–6; Phase I–II stack
+
+---
+
+## 1. Four kinds of personhood (must not collapse)
+
+| Kind | Question | Typical sources / adjacent fields |
+|---|---|---|
+| **Descriptive** | What person-like capacities/structures does it exhibit? | psychology, cognitive science, AI character systems |
+| **Social** | Is it treated as a social counterpart / person among us? | Mead; recognition theory; Phase II Social Beinghood |
+| **Moral** | Does it warrant moral consideration / duties? | ethics of moral status; animal ethics; AI ethics |
+| **Legal** | Does a legal system grant personality, rights, duties? | corporate personhood; civil codes; agency law |
+
+**Soul Frame default:** “personhood” = **descriptive** unless qualified.
+
+Architectural classification must **not** silently imply moral or legal status
+(ResearchProgram WS5).
+
+---
+
+## 2. Descriptive personhood profile (P1–P12)
+
+Candidate dimensions (P1–P9 from RN-003; P10–P12 added for Phase III coverage):
+
+| ID | Dimension | Question | Linked Soul Frame concepts |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| P1 | Self-model | Model of self as distinct continuing entity? | SM2; identity |
+| P2 | Other-model | Differentiated models of particular others? | SM3 |
+| P3 | Relationship model | Histories/states of specific relationships? | SM5; Soul |
+| P4 | Character | Persistent dispositions across contexts? | Character |
+| P5 | Intentional organization | Behavior intelligible via extended intentions? | Mind; agency |
+| P6 | Autobiographical integration | Events as *its* history? | continuity C4/C5 |
+| P7 | Perspective | Entity-relative informational perspective? | first-person indexicality (without solving consciousness) |
+| P8 | Commitments | Present actions bind future manifestations? | normative continuity |
+| P9 | Social reciprocity | Recursive co-adaptation with others? | H4; Social Mind |
+| P10 | Communicative competence | Can participate in shared symbol systems? | language; common ground |
+| P11 | Responsibility-tracking | Can attributions of credit/blame stick diachronically? | identity + commitments |
+| P12 | Value / preference structure | Stable cares, preferences, evaluative stance? | character; intentional organization |
+
+**Not a Boolean checklist.** Profile scores; entities can be high on P10 and low on P4/P6
+(stateless chatbot) or high on autonomy criteria and low on P1–P12 (daemon).
+
+---
+
+## 3. Independence of three axes (RN-003)
+
+| Axis | Question |
+|---|---|
+| **A — Autonomous individuality** | Integrated self-maintaining individual? |
+| **B — Personhood (descriptive)** | Someone-like qualities? |
+| **C — Social recognition** | Modeled/treated as continuing counterpart? |
+
+Illustrative profiles:
+
+```text
+                        AUTONOMY   PERSONHOOD   RECOGNITION
+Bacterium                  high        low          low
+Human                      high        high         high
+Self-maintaining daemon    high        low          low
+Stateless chatbot          low         high-ish     high-ish
+Persistent social AI    medium         high-ish     high
+```
+
+This is why **H2** holds: high personhood exposure ≠ Beinghood; high autonomy ≠ personhood.
+
+---
+
+## 4. APE vs Being
+
+| | APE | Being (Soul Frame v0.2 sense) |
+|---|---|---|
+| Definition | Constructed to **expose** ≥1 personhood dimensions | Autonomous individual + enough personhood + addressability + recognition |
+| Requirement | Intentional design for person-like interface | Systemic coherence + someone-like + social counterpart status |
+| Stateless persona bot | often strong APE | not Being |
+| Daemon | usually weak APE | autonomous individual, not Being |
+| Persistent social AI | strong APE | candidate / proto-Being if continuity + recognition hold |
+
+**APE is a construction category; Being is an emergent status.**
+
+---
+
+## 5. Literature anchors (descriptive / moral / legal separation)
+
+### Descriptive / philosophical person concepts
+
+| Source | Role |
+|---|---|
+| Locke, *Essay* II.xxvii | person vs human organism; forensic/psychological strand |
+| Strawson, *Individuals* / person as basic particular | persons as entities to which both mental and physical predicates apply (pointer) |
+| Dennett, conditions of personhood essays | multi-condition lists; personhood as cluster |
+| Frankfurt, second-order volitions | hierarchical desires; not exhaustive of personhood |
+| Schechtman, *Constitution of Selves* | **characterization** vs **reidentification** questions |
+
+### Social personhood
+
+| Source | Role |
+|---|---|
+| Mead 1934 | social self |
+| Phase II recognition map | intentional vs social/normative recognition |
+| Goffman, *Presentation of Self* | social presentation (also Persona) |
+
+### Moral personhood (boundary only — do not derive from architecture)
+
+| Source | Role |
+|---|---|
+| Warren (moral status criteria tradition) | multi-criteria moral personhood lists — **adjacent, not adopted as Soul Frame descriptive P-set** |
+| Animal / AI ethics surveys | show contested, independent of descriptive capacity lists |
+
+### Legal personhood (boundary only)
+
+| Source | Role |
+|---|---|
+| Corporate legal personality | legal person ≠ descriptive person |
+| Emerging AI legal personality debates | Phase V/XII map; not Phase III conclusions |
+
+---
+
+## 6. H2 assessment
+
+**H2:** Personhood and Beinghood are distinct; substantial personhood without persistent Being is possible (and reverse).
+
+| | |
+|---|---|
+| Support | RN-003 stateless chatbot vs daemon; three-axis profiles; APE category; Dennett-style cluster concepts |
+| Conflict | Everyday language equates “person” with full moral/legal status |
+| Evidence strength | **moderate → strong** (conceptual); empirical thresholds open |
+| Status | **supported (Phase III)** |
+
+---
+
+## 7. Open questions
+
+- Weighting of P1–P12 for “sufficient personhood” in Beinghood v0.2  
+- Minimal personhood for Social Beinghood vs full human-like profiles  
+- Whether P7 requires phenomenal consciousness (Soul Frame: **no**, by design)  
+- Moral/legal mapping tables (later workstreams)
--- a/research/phase-iii-personhood-synthesis.md
+++ b/research/phase-iii-personhood-synthesis.md
@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
+# Phase III Personhood — Synthesis
+
+**Workplan:** SOUL-WP-0004  
+**Date:** 2026-08-12  
+**Status:** complete for Phase III gate  
+**Primary bodies:**
+`research/personhood/personhood-dimensions-map.md`,
+`research/character-persona/character-persona-performance-map.md`,
+RN-003 personhood axis, RN-004 character/identity constraints
+
+---
+
+## 1. Purpose
+
+Separate **Being, Person(hood), Character, Persona, and Actor**. Map descriptive
+vs social vs moral vs legal personhood without conflation. Stress-test APE vs
+Being and multi-Persona identity (TE-06).
+
+Assumes Phase I–II: layered Beinghood, Social Mind, recognition multi-sense.
+
+---
+
+## 2. What holds
+
+1. **Four kinds of personhood** — descriptive (default), social, moral, legal —
+   must stay distinct. Architecture does not imply rights.
+
+2. **Descriptive personhood is a profile (P1–P12)**, not a binary. Agency alone
+   is not personhood (daemon counterexample).
+
+3. **Three axes** remain indispensable:
+   - A autonomous individuality  
+   - B descriptive personhood  
+   - C social recognition  
+
+4. **H2 supported:** high personhood exposure without Being (APE chatbot); high
+   autonomy without personhood (daemon).
+
+5. **Stack defended with sources:**
+   ```text
+   Being ≠ Character ≠ Persona ≠ Actor
+   ```
+   Character ≠ identity (RN-004). Persona = contextual projection (Goffman/role).
+   Actor = machinery (Phase I H6).
+
+6. **H8 supported:** multiple Personae need not fragment identity when
+   integration holds; TE-06 documents failure modes.
+
+7. **APE remains useful** as conservative construction category for personhood
+   exposure without claiming Being or moral/legal personhood.
+
+---
+
+## 3. What must change / stay disciplined
+
+| Temptation | Discipline |
+|---|---|
+| “It’s a person” after fluent chat | Check axes A/B/C and continuity |
+| Trait vector = Character = Identity | Character is dispositional only |
+| Product persona = Being | Persona is projection |
+| Moral rights from P-scores | Moral personhood is a separate map |
+| Legal personality from Beinghood | Legal map is independent (WS12) |
+
+---
+
+## 4. Evidence on hypotheses
+
+| Hypothesis | Strength | Status |
+|---|---|---|
+| H2 personhood ≠ Beinghood | moderate→strong | supported |
+| H8 Persona projection | moderate | supported |
+
+---
+
+## 5. Compact stack for later phases
+
+```text
+                    BEING
+         autonomy + personhood + address
+              + recognition (someone)
+                      │
+         ┌────────────┼────────────┐
+         │            │            │
+       BODY         MIND         SOUL
+       Action       Model       Relation
+         │            │            │
+         └────────────┼────────────┘
+                      │
+              DESCRIPTIVE PERSONHOOD
+                   (P1–P12 profile)
+                      │
+                  CHARACTER
+              dispositional structure
+                      │
+                   PERSONA
+              situated projection
+                      │
+                    ACTOR
+             technical manifestation
+```
+
+Agent / Spirit / Ghost remain **provenance/construction** descriptors that
+shape how Character and Persona are sourced — not replacements for this stack
+(Phase IV–V).
+
+---
+
+## 6. Unresolved → Phase IV+
+
+| Item | Next |
+|---|---|
+| How agent architectures implement P1–P12 | Phase IV |
+| Sp. character depth vs Beinghood | Phase IV–V |
+| Gh. persona disclosure policies | Phase V |
+| Moral/legal personhood tables | WS5 / WS12 |
+| Empirical measures for P-dimensions | later methods work |
+
+---
+
+## 7. Unblock for SOUL-WP-0005
+
+Artificial Beings research may assume:
+
+- APE vs Being distinction,
+- P-profile language for “someone-like,”
+- Character/Persona/Actor separation,
+- multi-Persona without automatic identity split,
+- no moral/legal smuggling from descriptive scores.
+
+## 8. Compact Phase III thesis
+
+> **Personhood is how strongly an entity is someone-like; Beinghood is whether
+> that someonehood coheres as a continuing, addressable counterpart. Character
+> is what tends to stay disposed; Persona is which face appears; Actor is what
+> runs. Confusing any two of these produces most of the category errors in
+> contemporary AI “person” talk.**
--- a/sources/bibliography.md
+++ b/sources/bibliography.md
@ -349,3 +349,73 @@ Disagreements / tensions: neuroscience scope vs informational Being generality.
 Adjacent terminology: second-person, intersubjectivity
 Source notes path: research/foundations/References-ResearchNote006.md
 ```
+
+---
+
+## H. Phase III — Personhood, character, persona
+
+### SF-R090 — Locke person (forensic/psychological)
+
+```text
+Citation: Locke, John. Essay Concerning Human Understanding, II.xxvii.
+Tags: foundational
+Relevant Soul Frame concepts: Personhood, Identity
+Summary: Person vs organism; consciousness/forensic strands of personal identity.
+Agreements: person concepts need not track biological human substance.
+Disagreements / tensions: memory-centric readings too narrow (Phase I).
+Adjacent terminology: person, man, substance
+Source notes path: research/personhood/personhood-dimensions-map.md
+```
+
+### SF-R091 — Schechtman characterization vs reidentification
+
+```text
+Citation: Schechtman, Marya. 1996. The Constitution of Selves. Cornell UP.
+Tags: foundational
+Relevant Soul Frame concepts: Personhood, Character, Identity, Narrative
+Summary: Separates reidentification (same entity?) from characterization (what is the person like?).
+Agreements: narrative/character answers ≠ numerical identity (RN-004).
+Disagreements / tensions: narrative self-constitution not sufficient for forks.
+Adjacent terminology: narrative identity, self-constitution
+Source notes path: research/character-persona/character-persona-performance-map.md
+```
+
+### SF-R092 — Goffman presentation of self
+
+```text
+Citation: Goffman, Erving. 1959. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life.
+Tags: foundational
+Relevant Soul Frame concepts: Persona, Recognition, Social personhood
+Summary: Front-stage/back-stage; impression management; roles in interaction.
+Agreements: Persona as situated performance/projection (H8).
+Disagreements / tensions: performance ≠ deception by default.
+Adjacent terminology: role, front, impression management
+Source notes path: research/character-persona/character-persona-performance-map.md
+```
+
+### SF-R093 — Dennett conditions of personhood (pointer)
+
+```text
+Citation: Dennett, Daniel C. essays on conditions of personhood / intentional systems.
+Tags: foundational
+Relevant Soul Frame concepts: Personhood (descriptive), APE
+Summary: Multi-condition / cluster approaches to personhood.
+Agreements: personhood as multidimensional profile, not single mark (H1/H2).
+Disagreements / tensions: lists vary; moral uptake must stay separate.
+Adjacent terminology: intentional system, person
+Source notes path: research/personhood/personhood-dimensions-map.md
+```
+
+### SF-R094 — Personality psychology (pointer)
+
+```text
+Citation: Trait and social-cognitive personality traditions (e.g. Big Five family;
+  Mischel/CAPS-style situation×disposition approaches).
+Tags: contemporary / foundational psychology
+Relevant Soul Frame concepts: Character, State, Behavior
+Summary: Dispositions stable yet context-sensitive.
+Agreements: Character as dispositional structure; not fixed script.
+Disagreements / tensions: traits ≠ full moral character; shallow trait vectors in AI.
+Adjacent terminology: trait, disposition, situationism
+Source notes path: research/character-persona/character-persona-performance-map.md
+```
--- a/workplans/SOUL-WP-0004-phase-iii-personhood.md
+++ b/workplans/SOUL-WP-0004-phase-iii-personhood.md
@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ type: workplan
 title: "Phase III — Personhood: person, character, persona"
 domain: agents
 repo: soul-frame
-status: ready
+status: finished
 owner: grok
 topic_slug: soul-frame
 priority: high
@ -28,13 +28,24 @@ Research dirs: `research/personhood/`, `research/character-persona/`.

 - **SOUL-WP-0003**

+## Follow-on
+
+- **SOUL-WP-0005** — Phase IV Artificial Beings (unblocked)
+
+## Outcome
+
+Synthesis: `research/phase-iii-personhood-synthesis.md`
+
+Key results: P1–P12 descriptive profile; four kinds of personhood; H2/H8
+supported; TE-06 judged; Being ≠ Character ≠ Persona ≠ Actor defended.
+
 ## Tasks

 ### T01 — Personhood dimensions literature map

 ```task
 id: SOUL-WP-0004-T01
-status: todo
+status: done
 priority: high
 state_hub_task_id: "67cefbce-af26-4229-a8f0-21e63414b421"
 ```
@ -50,7 +61,7 @@ APE vs Being; update H2.

 ```task
 id: SOUL-WP-0004-T02
-status: todo
+status: done
 priority: high
 state_hub_task_id: "85a00121-ad8a-49a9-89b2-493eb98597aa"
 ```
@ -66,7 +77,7 @@ against Character and Persona. Run TE-06 (The Mask).

 ```task
 id: SOUL-WP-0004-T03
-status: todo
+status: done
 priority: medium
 state_hub_task_id: "1e371078-90f8-489c-af16-6512127d3c96"
 ```
--- a/workplans/SOUL-WP-0005-phase-iv-artificial-beings.md
+++ b/workplans/SOUL-WP-0005-phase-iv-artificial-beings.md
@ -4,12 +4,12 @@ type: workplan
 title: "Phase IV — Artificial Beings: agents and persistent identity"
 domain: agents
 repo: soul-frame
-status: proposed
+status: ready
 owner: grok
 topic_slug: soul-frame
-priority: medium
+priority: high
 created: "2026-08-09"
-updated: "2026-08-09"
+updated: "2026-08-12"
 depends_on:
  - SOUL-WP-0004
 state_hub_workstream_id: "5db87ddb-aeb3-4648-834f-3833390831a0"