AIM Framework glossary
Derivation-Not-Ambition Principle (DNA-P)
Canonical definition
The Derivation-Not-Ambition Principle is the metatheoretical rule that a theory's legitimate scope is determined by what its axioms logically entail, not by the social permission, institutional affiliation, or disciplinary credentials of its author, such that if axioms A₁…Aₙ entail consequences in domain D, the theory's scope includes D regardless of whether the author is credentialed in D, and critiques that reject scope on credential grounds rather than derivation grounds constitute Mimetic Deflection rather than substantive engagement.
Explanation
If a set of axioms, validly combined, produces predictions about economics, law, psychology, and crisis dynamics, then the theory covers those domains, full stop. The question "who are you to make claims about X?" is not a logical objection; it is a status operation that polices who gets to say what, not whether what was said follows from the premises. DNA-P does not claim all derivations are correct, they may contain errors that substantive critique can identify. It claims only that scope is settled by logic, not by letterhead. The principle protects against the common pattern in which interdisciplinary work is dismissed not because a derivation step fails but because the author lacks the expected credentials for the domain the derivation enters. See Mimetic Deflection, Replacement Requirement. Metatheoretical Principle.
Epistemic status
Metatheoretical Principle.