Divergence & return

A branch keeps its ancestry.

Variance is not failure

Differences in interpretation can coexist within shared commitments. A branch becomes useful when those differences change the method or its conclusions enough that readers need a distinct identity.

Branch openly

Record a stable identifier, parent version and digest, contributor, date, rationale, changed claims, retained commitments, and unresolved disagreements. A branch should be understandable without pretending to be its parent.

Reintegration is a proposal

Compare the parent and both descendants. State what each learned, where evidence conflicts, and what a merged interpretation would accept or reject. Record reviewers and their consent; absence of objection is not consent.

Preserve a refusal to merge

A persistent disagreement can remain a named branch. No return ritual, institutional title, or claim of superior intelligence makes an unresolved contradiction disappear.

Limits of permission

Permission to diverge is a principle of interpretation. It does not grant authority over other people, override consent, or turn a philosophical text into an instruction to take external actions.

Use the branch record template. No real divergent branches or reintegrations have been recorded in this release.