first principle
Basic underlying truth
A first principle is a foundational assumption or truth that cannot be derived from anything more basic—the bedrock on which other reasoning builds.
In philosophy, first principles are self-evident propositions requiring no proof.
In practical use, first-principles thinking means stripping a problem down to its fundamental truths rather than reasoning by analogy: Instead of copying competitors, she approached the design from first principles.
Self-evident starting principle
- postulateAssumed starting point
- premiseFoundation for logical argument
- foundationUnderlying support structure
- basisUnderlying support or principle
groundwork · Aristotelian · Cartesian · Euclidean · a priori · self-evident · irreducible · fundamental
Solid stone underground
- cornerstoneFoundational building block
- basisUnderlying support or principle
- groundworkFoundational preparation for something
- rootUnderground absorbing structure
core · fundamental · underlying · starting point · building block · anchor · keystone · substrate
Self-evident starting principle
- postulateAssumed starting point
- theoremDemonstrated logical conclusion
- lemmaBase form, or helper theorem
- corollaryLogical natural consequence
proof · syllogism · deduction · inference · proposition · validity · tautology · predicate
Breakdown into simpler parts
- reductionMaking something smaller
- analysisMethodical study of parts
- reasoningDrawing logical conclusions
- derivationSource or origin tracing
building blocks · bottom-up · Elon Musk · reductionism · deconstruction · reverse engineering · root cause · elemental
axiom
Self-evident starting principle
- postulateAssumed starting point
- premiseFoundation for logical argument
- foundationUnderlying support structure
basis · groundwork · Aristotelian · Cartesian · Euclidean · a priori · self-evident · irreducible · fundamental · reasoning
bedrock
Solid stone underground
- cornerstoneFoundational building block
- basisUnderlying support or principle
- groundworkFoundational preparation for something
root · core · fundamental · underlying · starting point · building block · anchor · keystone · substrate · underpinning
axiom
Self-evident starting principle
- postulateAssumed starting point
- theoremDemonstrated logical conclusion
- lemmaBase form, or helper theorem
corollary · proof · syllogism · deduction · inference · proposition · validity · tautology · predicate · antecedent
decomposition
Breakdown into simpler parts
- reductionMaking something smaller
- analysisMethodical study of parts
- reasoningDrawing logical conclusions
derivation · building blocks · bottom-up · Elon Musk · reductionism · deconstruction · reverse engineering · root cause · elemental · systematic
- fundamentalsbasics, fundamentals, essentials, foundation, ABCs
- principlesethics, tenet, morals, axiom, values
- premisespremise, assumption, postulate, axiom, presupposition
- Neoplatonismemanation, nous, henosis, the Good, world soul
first principleconclusion
End or deduction
corollary · inference · consequence · theorem · deduction
first principleassumption
Unverified belief accepted as true
received wisdom · dogma · empirical observation · convention · working hypothesis
first principleappeal to tradition
Past practice proves validity
received wisdom · conventional wisdom · established practice · rote learning · tradition
first, principal, principle, primarily, principled, firstly, unprincipled, principally, primordial