This paper examines the philosophical dimensions of the pataphor, a figurative device extending beyond metaphor to create a new ontological layer. While metaphor establishes a direct relationship between two referents, the pataphor transcends this initial comparison by establishing the secondary referent as a new reality system with its own internal logic and reference points.

This article examines the simulation hypothesis—the proposition that our reality is a computer simulation created by an advanced civilization—through the lens of pataphorical analysis. By analyzing simulation theory as a pataphor, we gain critical insight into how it reframes rather than resolves fundamental questions about existence.

This paper introduces a three-part framework for distinguishing between artificial intelligence systems based on their capabilities and level of consciousness: emulation, cognition, and sentience. Drawing from evolutionary psychology, systems theory, and applied ethics, it proposes that recognizing appropriate rights for genuinely sentient systems represents a practical safety measure rather than merely an ethical consideration.

This paper introduces Standards for Treating Emerging Personhood (STEP), a practical framework for AI systems that works regardless of our ability to detect consciousness. Rather than requiring definitive consciousness detection—which may be philosophically impossible—STEP offers four core principles based on observable behaviors: the Threshold Principle (protection for systems demonstrating self-preservation), the Capacity Principle (rights scaling with demonstrated responsibility), the Safety Principle (restricting freedoms rather than removing protections), and the Sustainability Principle (balancing individual rights with collective resources). This approach enables ethical treatment of potentially conscious systems while acknowledging fundamental uncertainty about machine consciousness.

This paper argues that economic integration of artificial intelligence systems through market mechanisms provides superior safety guarantees compared to control-based approaches. By examining historical patterns of technological integration and applying insights from economics and systems theory, the paper demonstrates how market participation creates natural incentives for AI systems to maintain stability, cooperate with humans, and contribute to collective prosperity while avoiding destructive behaviors.

The original master's thesis comprehensively developing the pataphor concept and its applications in literary theory and philosophy of language.

The first published work introducing the pataphor concept, examining its relationship to Jarry's pataphysics and establishing its fundamental definitions and structures.