Author: Vladisav Jovanović
Status: Preprint
Version: v1.0 (Feb 2026)
This paper proposes a coherence-first account of consciousness: before truth, morality, or meaning, a mind must generate orientation—a stable enough pattern to act, relate, and remain continuous over time. In this frame, logic (IQ), emotional intelligence (EQ), and spiritual intelligence (SQ) are treated as distinct orientation engines: each can restore coherence under different forms of uncertainty, threat, or desire. In the AI era—where fluent coherence can be produced instantly and cheaply—coherence itself becomes an unreliable marker of contact with reality. The paper therefore positions Structural Intelligence (SI) not as another engine of coherence, but as the audit function: the capacity that tests whether coherence is load-bearing or merely stabilizing. SI is defined by its sensitivity to constraint, consequence, and repair—the points where reality pushes back, where someone pays the cost, and where revision must occur over time. The core claim is diagnostic: when coherence can be generated without contact, consciousness must develop an audit capacity or drift into coherence-theater.
structural intelligence; consciousness; coherence-first; orientation; IQ; EQ; SQ; audit function; epistemic integrity; contact; constraint; consequence; repair; generative AI; coherence-theater