First Principles
Which principle should govern the agent's next action?
Agency applies principles. The Value System owns what matters and the constraints that make action worthwhile.
The Spine
- Behavioural Biases — account for recurring patterns in human judgment.
- Philosophy — question conduct, meaning, and responsibility through durable traditions.
- Value Foundations — test truth, capacity, power, simplicity, and speed before acting.
- Goodwill — protect trust, reciprocity, privacy, security, and consensus across action.
Zoom Out
capability, and action. problem back to forces that can be tested. consumes its constraints.
Changes my mind: Agency becomes the rightful authority for values and goodwill rather than the actor constrained by them.
Context
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Purpose — name who should benefit from the action.
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Principles — choose the reasoning method.
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Platform — encode only stable, reviewed principles.
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Perspective — test the principle against current reality.
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Performance — observe whether applying it improved the outcome.
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depends-on Agency connects principles to character,
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Reason: First Principles Thinking strips a
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Navigate: Value System owns what matters; Agency
Questions
Next question: Which principle do you agree with but violate under pressure?
- Which Value constraint would rule out the tempting route?
- Which human tendency makes the current judgment unreliable?
- What evidence would change the governing principle?