M., Evoluit: Distinction Collapse and the Limits of Invariant Extension: A Categorical Analysis

This paper develops a formal categorical analysis of distinction collapse and its consequences for invariant reconstruction. We consider representation functors between categories and show that when such functors collapse distinctions—either by failing to be faithful or by identifying non-isomorphic objects—no reconstruction functor can preserve distinctions up to natural isomorphism. In such cases, strict invariant extension is structurally impossible. The analysis clarifies the limits of invar