VIRTUE AS HIGH PHI

Planning coherence ≠ [[090_D11.1_Moral-Coherence-Definition|moral coherence]]. A criminal's plans may be internally consistent while being DISCONNECTED from larger reality (the Logos). True Φ measures integration with ALL relevant information, including moral structure. A criminal's coherence is local and isolated; genuine Φ includes [[011_D2.2_Chi-Field-Properties|χ-field]] coupling. Evil is high local coherence with global disconnection—ultimately lower total Φ.

Subjective experience of fragmentation ≠ actual low Φ. The dark night is often a transition state—old patterns decohere as new, higher-coherence patterns form. Like metamorphosis: the caterpillar dissolves before becoming a butterfly. The PROCESS includes apparent disorder; the DIRECTION is toward higher coherence. Also, holiness doesn't mean freedom from suffering but integration of suffering into meaning.

Will and information are not separate. To will rightly, you must perceive correctly—see the good clearly. Higher Φ means seeing more connections, understanding more implications. Virtue requires wisdom; wisdom requires integration. The will follows the intellect (Aquinas); the intellect operates through integrated information. Virtue IS informational.

Φ is not IQ. Integrated information measures coherence of experience, not raw processing power. A simple person with unified purpose can have higher Φ than a brilliant but fragmented academic. "Blessed are the pure in heart"—purity is unity, not complexity. Many great saints were simple; their simplicity was integration, not deficiency.

The definitions are independent. Φ is defined information-theoretically (IIT: integrated information above and beyond partitioned components). Virtue is defined traditionally (habits that conduce to human flourishing, alignment with the Logos). The CLAIM is that these independently-defined concepts correlate empirically and necessarily. The correlation is discovered, not stipulated.