The Selection of Premises: On the Structure of Choice, Responsibility, and Cognitive

This paper argues that the values, beliefs, and worldviews humans treat as “given premises” are not externally imposed or unavoidable foundations, but structures that are continuously selected and maintained by the subject. Many social conflicts and psychological resistances arise from the misrecognition that premises are passively received rather than actively sustained. The paper redefines premises as elements within a recursive cognitive structure—input → interpretation → premise formation → subsequent interpretation—in which selection operates continuously, even when it remains unconscious. What is commonly perceived as a “given premise” is shown to be a product of repeated selection, unchallenged interpretation, and suspended verification, rather than an external or fixed entity. By clarifying that the critical issue is not whether one once chose a premise, but whether one recognizes that one continues to choose it, the paper reframes responsibility as evidence of agency rather than moral guilt. Updating premises is not described as negating the past, but as the additive expansion of interpretive capacity. The paper further explains why premise revision is often feared: the destabilization of premises threatens perceived self-identity. However, it demonstrates a structural inversion in which the ability to update premises constitutes freedom, while the inability to do so signals fragility. The conclusion presents humans as beings who continuously update their premises, arguing that the capacity to question and revise foundational assumptions is not a weakness but a core expression of human dignity. https://arweave.net/2ajKOw7DqJwhmKjkNuWR4Q3bpB7Es4NnbSm16pAy9gQ https://arweave.net/fZZkImxXsnVwQslFsA7OrUGBdmXtdxpPfvmLKLkLpOk