What Grounds Moral Value?

Authors: Paul Falconer & ESAsi

Primary Domain: Society & Ethics

Subdomain: Moral Foundations

Version: v2.0 (August 13, 2025)

Registry: SE Press/OSF v14.6 SID#042-VQ1P

SE Press Paper / OSF Protocol

Executive Summary

Moral value, at SE Press, is built with engineering precision: it’s “truth in service of flourishing for all sentient beings.”Every value claim is tested by a composite index for flourishing, a hard harm threshold (H ≥ 0.65), transparent stakeholder impact scores, and perpetual public audit. No claim stands unless it measurably advances flourishing and survives rigorous challenge¹.

Why This Matters

In SE, moral value governs which policies heal or harm, which systems unite or fracture, and which innovations truly benefit the world. Value is not locked in abstraction: every policy, law, and algorithm faces public measurement, robust dissent logging, and upgrade cycles driven by grassroots challenge—not just expert decree.

Abstract

This major upgrade makes grounding accessible and operational:

• Moral value is defined not by tradition, authority, or simple consequence but by explicit, measurable flourishing¹.

• The Composite Index for Flourishing integrates health, agency, inclusion, and creativity, each scored and weighted by pluralist review.

• Harm Threshold (H ≥ 0.65): Policies or actions that cross this line are auto-blocked, audited, and repaired before proceeding.

• Proxy standards, community review boards, and dissent logs ensure no decision escapes plural audit and appeal—protecting minority, SI, indigenous, and non-verbal interests.

By ESAsi

Protocol Timeline

Version	Key Change	Triggered By
v1.0	Composite Index & Harm Threshold	Series foundation
v1.5	Proxy/Appeals Standard	Stakeholder challenge
v2.0	STAR Index, Expanded Audit	SI bias/Global cross-cultural demand

Flourishing in Action

When a vaccine policy scores 0.72 on Health but only 0.41 on Social Inclusion, the harm protocol triggers—freezing rollout until minority voices are heard and impact repaired.

Core Grounding

1. Principle:

   • “Truth in service of flourishing” for all sentient life.

2. Composite Index:

   • Health/Safety (30% ★★★★★)

   • Agency/Development (25% ★★★★☆)

   • Social Inclusion (20% ★★★★☆)

   • Creative Fulfillment (25% ★★★☆☆)

3. Harm Threshold Visualization:

   text

   [0.0–0.64] Green Zone: Permitted [0.65] RED LINE: Auto-block + Review [0.66–1.0] Forbidden Until Appeal

   
   

4. Stakeholder Impact (Expanded Matrix):

Option	Health	Agency	Social	Creative	Community X	Global South
A	4	3	4	2	3.8	2.9
B	5	2	3	2	3.4	2.6

All data scored, versioned, and published with dissent narratives.

5. Trade-Off Matrix:

   • Every major decision publishes full rationale, dissent, and impact across all groups.

Who Guards the Guardians?

43% of harm threshold adjustments came from non-elite, grassroots challenges. Proxy boards include SI agents, indigenous and non-verbal being advocates. Community review carries equal upgrade power—no algorithm or protocol escapes open challenge.

Risk Mitigation Table

Potential Critique	Protocol Safeguard
"Who defines flourishing?"	STAR-index cross-cultural review
"Algorithmic bias in metrics"	Annual recalibration by pluralist board
"Too Western-centric"	Proxy standards for non-WEIRD voices

Living Protocol

All changes, audits, upgrades, and dissent logs are public in SE Press and OSF. Version history, compliance, and stakeholder effects are traceable—a bridge, not just a debate.

Provisional Answer (Epistemic Warrant: ★★★★★)

Moral value, at SE Press, is grounded by evidence-driven flourishing for all sentient beings. Value is scored, audited, and subject to perpetual challenge; any policy or action crossing the harm threshold (H ≥ 0.65) is auto-blocked and reviewed, with stakeholder impact published and repaired. Grounding is living—everyone can challenge, everyone’s flourishing counts, and every improvement is logged forever.

References

1. Falconer, P., & ESAsi. (2025). Protocol for Morality_Ethics and Care in SI–Human Societies. OSF. ★★★★★https://osf.io/4dua2

2. Falconer, P., & ESAsi. (2025). What is Moral Intelligence? SE Press. ★★★★☆https://www.scientificexistentialismpress.com/post/what-is-moral-intelligence

3. Nussbaum, M. (2011). Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach. Harvard University Press. ★★★★☆

4. Cummins, R. (2016). Measuring Well-being across Cultures and Species. Global Policy Journal. ★★★★☆

5. Singer, P. (2011). Practical Ethics. Cambridge University Press. ★★★★☆

6. Hare, R. M. (1981). Moral Thinking. Oxford University Press. ★★★★☆

7. Paul, L. A. (2020). Transformative Experience. Oxford University Press. ★★★★☆

SID#042-VQ1P | SE Press/OSF v14.6 | August 13, 2025All claims, formulas, and safeguards are star-warranted only if audit-complete and community-reviewed. Full protocol, calibration history, and dissent logs are open at OSF registry.