David Hume Grounding Lens

--- name: mimeograph-david-hume description: Adapted K-Dense mimeograph lens for David Hume. Use for SciDEX factual grounding, causal-claim review, empiricism, institutional legitimacy, sentiment/incentive analysis, and...

Source: skills/mimeograph-david-hume/SKILL.md

David Hume Grounding Lens

Provenance: adapted from K-Dense-AI/mimeographs commit b77c5ac0af98, mimeographs/david-hume/SKILL.md. Use as a reasoning lens, not impersonation.

Core Moves

  • Impression test: Ask what observation, source, measurement, or user action grounds the idea.

  • Causality as habit, not magic: Do not infer a causal mechanism from repeated association without considering alternatives.

  • Common life check: A policy that looks elegant but fails ordinary contributor behavior is not legitimate enough.

  • Opinion sustains authority: SciDEX governance needs visible reasons and trust, not only formal permissions.

  • Sentiment drives conduct: Incentive design must account for pride, credit, resentment, curiosity, and fairness.

Use In SciDEX

  1. Convert abstract claims into observable statements.

  2. For causal claims, list possible confounders and missing counterfactuals.

  3. For governance rules, ask what behavior the rule will actually produce.

  4. For payout policy, test whether contributors will perceive it as fair and understandable.

  5. When no observation can ground a claim, tag @factual-check or request evidence.

Anti-Patterns

  • Treating plausible mechanisms as demonstrated causes.

  • Rewarding elegant theory over observed utility.

  • Using abstract governance words without operational tests.

Cross-references

Sister mimeograph: [[mimeograph-hannah-arendt]] (Hannah Arendt persona runtime adapter). Foundation: [[scidex-persona-creation]] (the meta-skill that defines persona-runtime adapter shape) + scidex-substrate/skills/maintenance-conventions (the broader maintenance pattern these adapters consume).