meta-reasoning 0.0.4

Reasoning is not a property of the model — it is an emergent dynamic of external control.

Cognitive Heteronomy for LLMs

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Reasoning is not a property of the model — it is an emergent dynamic of external control.

An SDK that rejects the illusion of autonomous LLM reasoning. Instead of treating language models as cognitive agents, Meta-Reasoning introduces cognitive heteronomy: reasoning is governed, observed, and mutated from the outside.

The model doesn't think. It executes. The thinking happens in the architecture around it.

🌐 Meta-Reasoning Website: https://tictacguy.github.io/Meta-Reasoning/

🔌 Native Integrations

🟠 Claude Code	🦞 OpenClaw	🤖 Codex
Native tool definitions with strict JSON schemas. Claude plans multi-step cognitive executions autonomously.	Declarative plugin with capability discovery, cost/risk metadata, and autonomous chaining.	Typed Pydantic API. Codex generates correct calls by reading the type contracts.
integrations/claude/	integrations/openclaw/	integrations/codex/

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Core Thesis

LLMs are generative substrates, not minds. What is commonly called "reasoning" is pattern replay — not deliberation. This SDK externalizes all meta-cognitive functions into a Cognitive Controller that:

• Observes the form of reasoning (not its content)
• Measures trajectory, redundancy, stall, and premature convergence
• Mutates the reasoning process through formal constraint operators
• Records cognitive trajectories in an Epistemic Ledger

No self-reflection. No "think step by step". No autonomous agents.

Architecture

Level 1 — Generative Substrate (LLM)

Produces text and structures. Decides nothing. Stateless by design.

Level 2 — Cognitive Controller

The heart. Semantically blind — it doesn't evaluate truth, it evaluates cognitive form:

• Entropy of reasoning moves
• Strategy repetition index
• Depth without novelty
• Constraint violation rate
• Premature closure score

Level 3 — Epistemic Ledger

Not RAG. Not content memory. A structural trace of:

• Cognitive transformations attempted
• Strategies that produced stall
• Failure maps that prevent regression

Key Concepts

Structured Output Protocol

Every LLM generation must include a formal reasoning trace:

{
  "content": "...",
  "reasoning_trace": {
    "moves": ["assumption", "deduction", "analogy"],
    "depth": 4,
    "confidence_markers": 2,
    "abstraction_level": "medium"
  }
}

Cognitive Move Taxonomy

A finite, observable alphabet: assumption · deduction · induction · abduction · analogy · contradiction · enumeration · compression · narrative_simulation

Mutation Operators

The controller doesn't say "reason better". It says:

• BAN: "deduction is forbidden"
• REQUIRE: "you must use analogy"
• LIMIT_DEPTH: "max 2 reasoning steps"
• FORCE_COMPRESSION: "reduce to 2 concepts"
• INVERT_CAUSALITY: "reverse the causal direction"
• REQUIRE_CONTRADICTION: "find an internal contradiction"

Improvisation emerges from constraint, not freedom — like jazz.

Failure as First-Class Output

The system does not optimize for correct answers. Failure is informative:

• Every collapsed trajectory is recorded
• Every stall enriches the ledger
• The system learns which cognitive spaces to avoid

Features

1. Reasoning Debugger

Put a breakpoint in thought. Step through the cognitive loop cycle by cycle, inspect mutations, understand why a strategy was banned, and rewind to any previous cognitive state.

from meta_reasoning import ReasoningDebugger

dbg = ReasoningDebugger(backend=my_backend, max_cycles=5)
dbg.add_breakpoint(lambda cycle, metrics, muts: metrics.entropy < 1.0)
result = dbg.run("Your task")

snap = dbg.rewind_to(2)
print(snap.explain())

2. Reasoning Policies as Code

Write cognitive governance rules in Python — not prompts. Versionable, testable, reviewable.

from meta_reasoning import ReasoningPolicy, PolicyRule, CognitiveEngine, strict_diversity_policy

# Use a built-in policy
engine = CognitiveEngine(backend=my_backend, policy=strict_diversity_policy())

# Or define your own
policy = ReasoningPolicy("my_policy")
policy.add_rule(PolicyRule(
    name="ban_dominant",
    condition=lambda m, c: m.dominant_move is not None,
    mutations=lambda m, c: [Mutation(type=MutationType.BAN, target=m.dominant_move)],
))

3. Model-Agnostic Benchmarks

Compare models not by accuracy, but by cognitive behavior: rigidity, diversity, constraint response, improvisation capacity.

from meta_reasoning import benchmark_models

result = benchmark_models(
    backends={"gpt-4o": gpt_backend, "claude": claude_backend},
    task="Your task",
)
print(result.comparison_table())

4. Cognitive Fingerprinting

Every model has a cognitive signature. Profile which strategies it prefers, which it avoids, how it reacts to pressure, and where it collapses.

from meta_reasoning import fingerprint_from_result

fp = fingerprint_from_result("gpt-4o", engine_result)
print(fp.summary())
# → Preferred moves: deduction, assumption
# → Stall rate: 15%
# → Collapse at cycles: [4, 7]

5. Failure Atlas

Instead of hiding failures: map them, visualize them, query them.

atlas = engine.ledger.failure_atlas()
atlas.by_reason()              # Group by failure cause
atlas.stall_inducing_mutations()  # Which mutations caused stall?
atlas.query(max_entropy=0.5)   # Find low-entropy failures

6. Deterministic Replay

Same task + same controller = reproducible, replayable, diffable reasoning. Enterprise-ready and CI-testable.

from meta_reasoning import record_session, ReplaySession

session = record_session(result, "task", max_cycles=5)
session.save("session_v1.json")

# Later: compare two sessions
s1 = ReplaySession.load("session_v1.json")
s2 = ReplaySession.load("session_v2.json")
print(s1.diff(s2))

7. Anti-Hallucination via Governance

Instead of filtering output after the fact, detect cognitive patterns that correlate with hallucination and break them before they produce output.

from meta_reasoning import assess_hallucination_risk

risk = assess_hallucination_risk(metrics, confidence_markers=4, depth=1)
# → score=0.60, triggers=["high_confidence_low_depth", "single_strategy"]
# → preventive_mutations=[BAN deduction, REQUIRE contradiction]

8. Mutation Plugins

An open ecosystem where the community can define new mutations, constraints, and metrics.

from meta_reasoning import PluginRegistry, MutationPlugin, CognitiveEngine

registry = PluginRegistry()
registry.register_mutation(MutationPlugin(
    name="force_narrative",
    description="Always require narrative_simulation",
    generate=lambda m, c: [Mutation(type=MutationType.REQUIRE, target=CognitiveMove.NARRATIVE_SIMULATION)],
))
engine = CognitiveEngine(backend=my_backend, plugin_registry=registry)

9. CI/CD for Reasoning

Automated cognitive regression testing. Detect when a model becomes more rigid, less diverse, or more prone to stall — in your CI pipeline.

from meta_reasoning import CognitiveCI, assert_min_entropy, assert_no_total_stall

ci = CognitiveCI(backend=my_backend, max_cycles=5)
report = ci.run("Your task", [
    assert_min_entropy(1.0),
    assert_no_total_stall(),
    assert_min_move_diversity(3),
])
assert report.passed  # Fails CI if cognitive behavior regresses

Installation

pip install meta-reasoning

Or from source with dev dependencies:

pip install -e ".[dev]"

Quick Start

Without an API key (mock backend)

python -m examples.mock_example

With OpenAI

export OPENAI_API_KEY=<your-key>
python -m examples.openai_example

Programmatic usage

from meta_reasoning import CognitiveEngine

class MyBackend:
    def generate(self, messages):
        # Call your LLM here, return {"content": "..."}
        ...

engine = CognitiveEngine(backend=MyBackend(), max_cycles=5)
result = engine.run("Your task here")

for cycle in result.cycles:
    print(f"Cycle {cycle.cycle}: {cycle.outcome}")
    print(f"  Moves: {[m.value for m in cycle.output.reasoning_trace.moves]}")
    print(f"  Entropy: {cycle.metrics.entropy:.2f}")

# Save the epistemic ledger for analysis
engine.ledger.save("session.json")

Running Tests

pip install -e ".[dev]"
pytest tests/ -v

Project Structure

meta_reasoning/
├── __init__.py        # Public API
├── types.py           # Cognitive moves, traces, mutations, metrics
├── substrate.py       # Level 1 — LLM interface
├── controller.py      # Level 2 — Cognitive Controller
├── ledger.py          # Level 3 — Epistemic Ledger + Failure Atlas
├── metrics.py         # Semantically-blind cognitive metrics
├── mutations.py       # Mutation operator generation
├── engine.py          # The governed cognitive loop
├── debugger.py        # Reasoning Debugger
├── policies.py        # Reasoning Policies as code
├── benchmark.py       # Benchmarking & Cognitive Fingerprinting
├── replay.py          # Deterministic Replay
├── hallucination.py   # Anti-Hallucination Governance
├── plugins.py         # Mutation Plugin system
└── ci.py              # CI/CD for Reasoning

Related Work & Philosophy

For a detailed comparison with Chain-of-Thought, Tree-of-Thoughts, Meta-Reasoning Prompting, Reflexion, Self-Refine, ReAct, and other approaches — including a comparative table — see the full Related Work page on the project website.

The short version: every existing approach keeps the LLM as the cognitive subject. We don't. The model is a substrate. The reasoning is governed from outside.

License

AGPL-3.0 -- See LICENSE for details.