aristotle-first-principles

First-principles thinking is a problem-solving method that decomposes complex issues into irreducible ground truths and rebuilds solutions from zero, avoiding analogy or convention to ensure traceable, evidence-based reasoning.

To decompose a problem into ground truths, progress through five phases: define the problem essence, challenge assumptions, establish 3–5 irreducible truths, reason upward, and validate the reasoning with explicit evidence.

First-principles reasoning is domain-agnostic and works for strategy, design, engineering, and any complex situation where conventional wisdom may mislead and rigorous critical thinking is required.

The best way to avoid analogy and convention is to enforce phase decomposition, demand evidence for every assumption, separate outcomes from solutions, and maintain minimal, justified complexity in your reasoning.

You need to establish 3–5 ground truths when rebuilding a solution from scratch, ensuring each truth is irreducible and supported by explicit evidence to maintain minimal, justified complexity.

You should avoid first-principles decomposition when a problem requires a rapid analogy-based fix or lacks the necessary evidence to challenge assumptions and establish irreducible truths for traceable reasoning.