Re: Design principles and ethics (was Re: Execute without read(was [...]))

[Bas Wijnen]

On Mon, May 01, 2006 at 12:52:52PM -0600, Christopher Nelson wrote:
> > You seem to think that a principle and a dogma are two 
> > different things.  I don't see why.  They seem to differ 
> > mostly in what people connotate with them.

IMO, both are almost synonym for axiom, used in different fields.  However
principles and dogmas have some ethics bound to them, while axioms don't.

> They are two different things.  A principle is statement from which
> correct action may be derived, according to the framework in which the
> principle rests.

I agree.

> It is provable from the basis of the framework.

No.  It is the basis of the framework.  It is what you use to prove things in
it.  (The framework being a set of statements about what's good and what's
bad, in this case meaning what should be implemented and what shouldn't.)

> A dogma is simply a set of beliefs that some one or some group wishes to
> promote, and may be shown to be (or well known to be) false according to
> the framework in which it rests.

No.  A dogma is also the basis from which people decide what is right and what
is wrong.  While it isn't usual to use the word "prove" in this context, this
is essentially what they are used for.

Dogmas and principles are axioms in the sense that they cannot be proven: they
are what you start from when setting up a proof.

The main difference is that when a principle is found to result in unwanted
statements (that is, things which are considered bad can be proven to be good
or vice versa), the principle is discarded.  The same may be the case with a
dogma, but you need to be the pope to have the authority. :-)

> Principled action is always to be preferred over rule-base action, that
> latter being the domain of a dogma.

Perhaps our definitions are different, but in the end you will always base
your decisions on axioms.  What you call them doesn't matter.

Thanks,
Bas

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