Decision Topology
A minimal ethics framework for decision-making under irreversibility. It asks a single core question: whose futures are being closed, and did they validly participate in the closing?
Version v1.2.1 (Final) · Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (commercial use allowed with attribution).
- Agent standing over their own futures.
- Valid participation, not performative consent.
- Recognition of representational closure (deception, omission, manipulation).
- Bounded defensive exceptions with safeguards.
- Responsibility for cascades, not just the initial action.
Overview
A floor, not a ceiling
Decision Topology defines the ethical minimum. It identifies impermissible action in terms of non-participatory closure of agent futures. It does not optimize among permissible options. It constrains what cannot be done.
- One axiom, three primitives, four operational steps.
- Scales from personal decisions to policy and AI systems.
- Explicit hardenings against coercion and deception.
- A protocol you can run under pressure.
- Not a virtue or meaning framework.
- Not a productivity system.
- Not a formula that removes judgment.
- Not a replacement for human responsibility.
Downloads
Framework and tools
Use the Markdown as the canonical reference. Use the PDF for printing and sharing. Use the templates when decisions become multi-agent, time-sensitive, or irreversible.
Canonical specification (v1.2.1 Final).
Tip: if you publish releases on GitHub, link downloads to the v1.2.1 release assets.
Field-ready templates for running the protocol.
If you want institutional usability, keep the Markdown versions.
How to use it
Start Tier 1, escalate when stakes rise
Decision Topology is built for real decisions: low-stakes quick checks, and high-stakes protocols with auditability.
For low-stakes, reversible choices.
- Am I closing anyone’s futures?
- Did they have a genuine say (valid participation)?
- Am I shaping their choice via pressure or distortion?
- If irreversible, escalate to Tier 2 or 3.
For contracts, policy, AI deployment, and irreversible closures.
- Map closures: material, representational, cascade.
- Verify participation validity (7 impairment conditions).
- If no participation: defensive exception only with safeguards.
- Assign accountability for downstream closure.
Reference
How to cite
If you use, reference, teach, or adapt Decision Topology, please cite the framework as follows.
License
CC BY 4.0
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). You may share and adapt the material for any purpose, including commercial use, provided appropriate attribution is given.