priniciples

Principles, commonly spelled as principles, are fundamental ideas or propositions that guide behavior, reasoning, and inquiry. They function as general laws, beliefs, or standards that people can assume as a basis for further thinking without requiring justification in every instance. A principle is often broader than a specific rule and may be described as a basic truth or normative guideline that informs decisions and explanations.

Principles appear across disciplines. In science and engineering, principles such as the conservation of energy, the principle of causality, and the principle of least action organize understanding and constrain models. In mathematics and logic, axioms and postulates constitute fundamental principles from which theorems follow. In ethics and political philosophy, principles such as autonomy, justice, beneficence, and human rights provide normative standards for evaluation and action. Practical domains also rely on principles to guide design, policy, and everyday judgment.

Principles are often tested through observation, experimentation, and debate and may be revised in light of new evidence or better theories. They can be descriptive, stating what tends to be true, or prescriptive, indicating how things ought to be. The distinctions among principle, law, rule, and theory are subtle and context-dependent. The approach of first principles thinking emphasizes reducing problems to fundamental truths, from which new solutions and innovations can be derived.