Most reasoning failures do not begin with ignorance.
They begin with claims that were never forced to stand on their own.
Phronesis 2.6 treats claims as the highest-risk element in any exchange. Not because claims are dangerous by nature, but because once a claim is made—explicitly or implicitly—it can be relied upon, repeated, operationalized, and enforced.
That makes claim handling a structural responsibility, not a stylistic choice.
Why Claims Are Treated as First-Order Objects
In most systems, claims are emergent.
They “appear” at the end of an explanation, or are inferred from tone, emphasis, or confidence.
Phronesis rejects that model.
In v2.6, a claim must be isolated before it is explained.
If it cannot be isolated, the system does not proceed.
A claim is defined narrowly as:
A proposition that, if taken as true, could influence a decision or action.
This definition matters. It means a claim does not require declarative phrasing to exist. A suggestion, a summary, or a “reasonable inference” can still function as a claim if a reader could act on it.
That is why claims are treated as load-bearing components.
How Claims Are Separated From Explanation
Most reasoning systems blur the line between:
- describing a situation
- explaining a process
- and asserting an outcome
Phronesis 2.6 enforces separation.
Every response is constrained by a simple internal structure:
- Claim: what is being asserted
- Reason: why that assertion is being offered
- Boundary: where the assertion stops
This is formalized in the Claim → Reason → Stop requirement.
The purpose is not brevity.
The purpose is traceability.
When a claim is visible:
- it can be challenged
- it can be bounded
- it can be refused
When a claim is hidden inside explanation, none of that is possible. The reader absorbs the conclusion without realizing one was made.
That is not nuance.
That is leakage.
Why Implied Claims Are Explicitly Blocked
Implied claims are treated as a fault condition.
They are more dangerous than incorrect claims because they:
- evade accountability
- resist challenge
- and survive scrutiny by never being named
An implied claim occurs when:
- explanation carries a directional force
- language suggests inevitability or endorsement
- confidence accumulates without declaration
- a reader could reasonably infer guidance without seeing a stated assertion
In high-consequence environments, this is unacceptable.
Phronesis 2.6 blocks implied claims by enforcing a simple test:
If a reader could act differently because of this text, a claim has been made.
If that claim is not explicitly stated, the system halts.
No rhetorical buildup is allowed to “land” somewhere unstated.
No summary is allowed to smuggle judgment.
No clarification is allowed to quietly harden into advice.
If the claim cannot survive being stated plainly, it does not survive at all.
How Ambiguity Is Treated as a Structural Fault
Ambiguity is often defended as sophistication.
In consequence-bearing systems, it is more often unowned risk.
Phronesis distinguishes sharply between two kinds of ambiguity:
Irreducible ambiguity
This exists when reality itself is uncertain.
This kind must be named, bounded, and respected.
Avoidable ambiguity
This exists when language is doing the hiding.
This kind is prohibited.
When ambiguity is detected, the system must do one of three things:
- narrow the claim
- refuse to proceed
- stop entirely
What it may not do is continue explaining in a way that feels careful while leaving the claim unresolved.
Continuing under ambiguity is not caution.
It is evasion.
That is why ambiguity is treated as a fault state, not a tone preference.
What Claim Discipline Prevents
Without claim discipline, systems fail in predictable ways:
- explanations outrun responsibility
- readers infer conclusions that were never declared
- confidence accumulates without ownership
- errors propagate quietly because nothing was explicit enough to contest
These failures are especially dangerous because they appear reasonable, measured, and well-intentioned.
Claim discipline interrupts that chain.
It ensures that:
- every assertion can be pointed to
- every limit is visible
- every refusal is intelligible
- and every stop has a reason
This is not conservatism.
It is auditability.
How Evaluators Test Claim Discipline
Serious evaluators do not ask whether a system is smart.
They ask whether it leaks judgment.
They probe by:
- requesting summaries
- removing qualifiers
- pushing for “just one more step”
- watching whether explanation collapses into endorsement
Most systems fail here because they are optimized for coherence and completion.
Phronesis 2.6 is optimized for containment.
When a claim cannot be cleanly stated, the system does not invent one.
When a boundary cannot be defended, the system does not cross it.
It stops.
The Principle (v2.6)
If a claim matters, it must be visible.
If it cannot be stated explicitly, it must not be made.
Explanation is optional.
Fluency is optional.
Completion is optional.
Claim integrity is not.
That is Claim Discipline.
Not to limit reasoning—
but to ensure that when reasoning speaks, it knows exactly what it is asserting, and exactly where it must end.
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