Core question: “What must we always or never do?”
A decision constraint derived from values. Principles compress patterns and experience into actionable heuristics. Stable; refined through cases but rarely overturned.
Structural Contract
A principle form requires:
- The principle itself — Stated as a clear maxim or priority declaration. Often uses the “X Over Y” pattern to clarify what’s being prioritized.
- Rationale — Why this principle matters. What risk does violating it create?
- Manifestations — How the principle shows up at different system levels (session, architecture, knowledge) or in different contexts. Not a bullet list of rules — show how the same constraint applies across scales.
- Sources — Values, experiences, or patterns the principle was derived from.
- Relations — Connections to boundaries it informs, patterns it compresses, and models it constrains.
Optional: Diagnostic — A test statement for whether the principle is being upheld. “If you can’t tell X, you’ve violated this principle.”
Naming heuristic: maxim or priority declaration. “Human Authority Over Augmentation Systems” not “Authority Principle.”
Typical Predicates
is_a::[\[\[Principle Form\]\]](Principle%20Form.html)has_status::[\[\[Seed Stage\]\]](Seed%20Stage.html) or [\[\[Evergreen Stage\]\]](Evergreen%20Stage.html)in_domain::[\[\[Deep Context Architecture\]\]](../domains/Deep%20Context%20Architecture.html)depends_on::[[Value]]↑ or [[Conviction]]↑ — what grounds the principleextends::[[Related Principle]]↑ — how principles build on each otherrelates_to::[\[\[Boundary Form\]\]](Boundary%20Form.html), [\[\[Pattern Form\]\]](Pattern%20Form.html), [\[\[Model Form\]\]](Model%20Form.html)
Exemplars
- [[Human Authority Over Augmentation Systems]]↑ — multi-level manifestation (session, architecture, knowledge)
- [[Authority Flows from the Person]]↑ — grounded in Self-Sovereign Identity domain with delegability test
- [[Content Over Container]]↑ — priority declaration with clear “X Over Y” naming
Category
Orientation form — establishes what matters and what we believe.
Sources
Definition from [[Deep Context as an Architecture for Captured Reasoning]], lines 52-53.
Relations
- relates_to::[[Boundary Form]] — principles inform boundaries; boundaries enforce principles
- relates_to::[[Decision Form]] — principles provide standing constraints that decisions apply
- relates_to::[[Pattern Form]] — principles compress patterns into heuristics
- relates_to::[[Model Form]] — principles constrain what models can represent