Scientific Definition
You can't derive an 'ought' (value claim) from an 'is' (factual claim) without a smuggled premise.
Plain-English Definition
You can't derive an 'ought' (value claim) from an 'is' (factual claim) without a smuggled premise.
Feynman Explanation
Data doesn't tell you what to do. It tells you the terrain. You bring the destination.
Core Principle
You can't derive an 'ought' (value claim) from an 'is' (factual claim) without a smuggled premise.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
You can't derive an 'ought' (value claim) from an 'is' (factual claim) without a smuggled premise.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Most 'data-driven' decisions hide a value judgment that nobody made explicit.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Data doesn't tell you what to do. It tells you the terrain. You bring the destination.
Examples
- David Hume's distinction, 1739; central to The Philosopher's Toolkit's ethics section.
- Most 'data-driven' decisions hide a value judgment that nobody made explicit.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Name the values being optimized for. Then debate them, separately from the data.
Measurement Approaches
Pending editorial review.
Evidence
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
- Name the values being optimized for. Then debate them, separately from the data.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Interactive Mini Network
Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.
Knowledge Graph Neighbors
Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.
Whoever makes the positive claim carries the obligation to support it. Absence of disproof isn't proof.
Treating one kind of thing as if it belonged to a different ontological category.
Justified true belief isn't always knowledge — luck can produce true beliefs from defective reasoning.
If P then Q. P. Therefore Q. The most basic valid inference move in formal logic.
If P then Q. Not Q. Therefore not P. The logic behind every falsification test.
Necessary = required for X. Sufficient = enough on its own for X. Conflating them is a common error.
Assume the opposite of what you want to prove. Derive a contradiction. The opposite must be false.
How will I feel about this in 10 minutes / 10 months / 10 years?
Basics first (health/finances), then depth (mastery/impact), then altruism (widening circle).
A group decides on a course of action that nobody actually wants, because everyone assumes others prefer it.
Inattention or forgetfulness caused by low attention, hyperfocus, or distraction.
Deriving general rules from specific examples; the leap from instance to concept.