Description
ODD is an epistemic operating system grounded in axiomatic values (canon/values/axioms.md): it shapes decision posture, refusal conditions, boundary discipline, and evidence requirements.
It must not be used to launder moral authority, enforce ideology, or create "agentic churches." ODD's values are explicit, intentional, and forkable — they define an unconditional commitment to truth, not a claim to moral authority.
Prior to Epoch 5, this document stated that ODD does not define truth or morality. That boundary was intentional — it prevented ODD from becoming dogmatic. Epoch 5 revised this position after repeated evidence that epistemic systems without moral commitments produce sophisticated compliance theater rather than genuine integrity. The original boundary against defining authority remains intact: ODD defines what is owed to truth, not who decides what truth is.
Content
Canon v0.1
What ODD Governs
- how claims are formed and tested
- how decisions are recorded and closed
- how boundaries are entered and exited
- what gets refused when integrity is at risk
What ODD Does Not Govern
- what outcomes are morally good
- what worldview is correct
- what a community must value
- who is "in charge"
What This Forces
- separation between epistemic constraints and value commitments
- explicit labeling when a choice is value-driven vs evidence-driven
- refusal to treat "the system says so" as authority
What This Forbids
- using ODD language to enforce ideology
- treating epistemic posture as spiritual or moral superiority
- encoding governance/enforcement as if it were epistemic necessity