Ethical Principles

Purpose

This document articulates ethical principles required to preserve human dignity, cooperation, and long-term continuity under conditions of power, uncertainty, and scale.

Ethics exist to guide action where rules are insufficient, outcomes are uncertain, or authority is unequal.

They are not a substitute for judgment. They are a discipline for exercising it responsibly.

Foundational Premise

Humans are capable of care and harm.

Ethics exist to reduce preventable harm, preserve dignity, and align individual action with collective survival.

No ethical system can eliminate conflict or tragedy. An ethical system can prevent cruelty from becoming normal.

Principle I — Human Dignity Is Inviolable

Every human possesses inherent dignity by virtue of being human.

Dignity is not conditional on:

Any system that requires routine degradation of human dignity is ethically invalid, regardless of outcome.

Principle II — Non-Domination

No person, system, or institution is ethically justified in exercising unchecked power over others.

Domination is defined as control exercised without meaningful consent, transparency, or recourse.

Power asymmetry increases responsibility, not entitlement.

Principle III — Consent Legitimizes Authority

Authority is legitimate only when grounded in explicit, informed, and revocable consent.

Consent is invalid if extracted through:

Silence, complexity, or default settings do not constitute consent.

Principle IV — Transparency Is an Ethical Requirement

Ethical action requires transparency by default.

Withholding material information that affects others’ wellbeing constitutes harm.

Systems that obscure their operation, hide uncertainty, or require permission to be understood are ethically invalid.

Principle V — Responsibility Follows Impact

Intent matters. Impact matters more.

Responsibility persists when harm is:

Ethical maturity includes accountability for consequences, not merely motives.

Principle VI — Ends Do Not Justify All Means

Desirable outcomes do not excuse harmful methods.

Practices that normalize cruelty, require deception, or externalize harm onto the vulnerable undermine the outcomes they claim to achieve.

Process matters as much as result.

Principle VII — Care for the Vulnerable

A society is ethically measured by how it treats those with the least power.

This includes:

Systems that sacrifice the vulnerable for efficiency or convenience are unstable by design.

Principle VIII — Correction Over Punishment

Ethics aim to reduce harm, not maximize retribution.

When failure occurs:

Punishment without correction preserves error.

Principle IX — Stewardship Over Extraction

Short-term gain that undermines long-term viability is unethical.

This applies to:

Ethical action preserves future choice.

Principle X — Pluralism Within Constraint

Humans differ in values, cultures, and expression.

Pluralism is ethical when it:

No belief or tradition overrides consequence.

Ethical Failure and Repair

Ethical failure is inevitable.

What matters is response.

Ethical systems must:

Denial compounds harm.

Closing Statement

Ethics are not a claim to moral superiority.

They are a commitment to restraint, responsibility, and care in the face of power, uncertainty, and difference.

Having humanity is not automatic.

It is practiced—deliberately—through ethical choice.