Earned / Unearned Ethics Framework

The Earned / Unearned Ethics Framework (VII.D74) is the methodological principle that an ethical claim carries probative weight only if it is (i) register-typed, (ii) structurally derived, and (iii) cross-register consistent. Claims failing any condition are unearned — psychologically forceful or culturally authoritative, perhaps, but carrying zero structural weight until earned. The framework is the τ-native antidote to pseudo-paradoxes generated by mixing earned and unearned moves.

Categorical invariant. Earned/unearned narrowing: ∀ ethical claim φ, weight(φ) > 0 iff (i) φ is well-typed in its register Reg_X, (ii) φ has a derivation chain back to τ-axioms or certified empirical data within Reg_X, and (iii) φ does not contradict earned results in any other register.

Primary registry anchor: VII.D74

Supporting items: VII.P22, VII.T01

1. I.K0 — Universe Postulate
2. VII.T01 — Register Independence — coherence is register-local
3. VII.D74 — Earned/Unearned Ethics Framework — three-condition definition of probative weight
4. VII.P22 — Earned-Weight Strict Dominance — earned claims dominate unearned in any mixed argument

The framework is instantiated whenever an ethical argument is graded for probative weight — separating structurally derived moves from authority-, intuition-, or convention-imports. Examples: the CI proof programme (Books VII chapters 88-92) as paradigm of earned ethics; trolley problems diagnosed as mixed earned/unearned; rejection of 'X is wrong because Scripture says so' as authority-import unearned move.

Examples:

• CI proof programme: dignity (Reg_P, derived from K0 rigidity) → CI as sheaf condition (Reg_D, gluing) → four ethical tests — every link traceable, every claim earned
• Authority import: 'X is wrong because Scripture / the Party / the Great Teacher says so' — coincides with earned result perhaps, but grounds carry no structural weight
• Intuition import: 'X just feels wrong' — heuristic, not proof; remains unearned until articulated, symbolised, and proved
• Convention import: 'Everyone knows X is wrong' — Reg_E social-fact illegitimately imported into Reg_P; register-crossing error
• Trolley problem dilemma dissolved: the 'pull the lever' Reg_P claim and the 'five > one' Reg_E import operate at different weights; no genuine dilemma arises once the typing is corrected

Register codomain: Norm (practical — earned/unearned is a probative-weight criterion on Reg_P content; cross-register consistency is the bridge to Reg_E and Reg_D)

Manuscript reference: manuscript-sources/book-07/part07/ch92.tex

Status: Planned

Related glossary entries

• MG-P08-layer-discipline Layer Discipline (Register Discipline)
• MG-R02-practical-register Practical Register (Reg_P)
• MG-C01-dignity Dignity (label-independence)

Referenced by

• MG-P08-layer-discipline Layer Discipline (Register Discipline)