This explainer video is all about First Principles, a mental model or thinking tool popularized
by thinkers like Aristotle up to Elon Musk in modern times. Be sure to watch until the
end to discover precisely how Musk used First Principles thinking to start SpaceX.
First Principles is best explained by starting with some ways in which it has been defined
in the dictionary. We will reference three different definitions for a thoroughly comprehensive
view.
1.) Principles that are basic or self-evident.
2.) The set of basic statements on which a method, theory, or organization is founded.
3.) The basic and most important reasons for doing or believing something.
So basically, first principles are the building blocks we use to build up our understanding.
They are the fundamental pieces of our understanding, the solid ground on which our knowledge can
be built up from and raised to greater comprehension.
Just like the biblical admonition to build the house upon the rock, this verse could
have described First Principles.
"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who
built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew
and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock."
-Matthew 7:24-27
First Principles withstand the storms of misunderstanding because they have a solid foundation, just
like a rock.
If you were to build a house or a pyramid, the first principles could be thought of as
the foundation stones. The structure on top of the foundation stones might be cognitive
structures like theories and hypotheses, and the structure above that could be things like
ideas and opinions.
When our cognitive structure is shaken by doubts and uncertainties, the parts above
the foundation of the first principles are the first to collapse and be discarded.
The foundation, however, remains since it is composed of that which is proven essential
or most basic and dependable. We could begin again and rebuild on these first principles
with new or different hypotheses and ideas in our search for truth.
First Principles, as first taught by Aristotle and his followers, refer to the most basic
and self-evident proposition or assumption. The parts that can't be deduced from any other
proposition or assumption.
As history progressed, Kantians used First Principles in the form of postulates, and
in mathematics, First Principles were referred to as axioms.
A prominent historical philosopher, Descartes, actually set the stage for later Kantians
with his method of Cartesian Doubt.
This is where the thinker systematically doubts everything they possibly could until what
was leftover were the indubitable truths or axioms. This, as we now know, is essentially
determining the First Principles.
As we now know, Philosophy was the birthplace of First Principles before its widespread
use in Science and even Business in modern times. It is only fitting that we turn to
another great philosopher, Socrates and his famous method of questioning, known as Socratic
Questioning, as a way of establishing First Principles.
Socratic Questioning is a method of disciplined questioning used to establish truths and dig
deeper to reveal underlying assumptions.
Socratic Questioning is systematic, in-depth, and often focuses on fundamental principles,
concepts, theories, or problems.
Socratic Questioning does not assume anything and gets to the heart of the issue by asking
questions until only the irreducible remains, which essentially is what we call a First
Principle.
A great example of a modern thinker who excels at determining First Principles is Elon Musk,
who runs both Tesla Motors and SpaceX.
Musk, while wrestling with problems related to what would be SpaceX was considering how
to send a rocket to Mars.
He visited several aerospace manufacturers and quickly discovered that the price tag
for purchasing a rocket from them was an astounding $65 million.
After learning the price tag for his space travel ambitions, he decided to consider the
problem from a First-Principles perspective.
Musk referred to his tactics as approaching things from a physics framework. He said,
"let's look at the First Principles."
"What is a rocket made of? Aerospace-grade aluminum alloys, plus some titanium, copper,
and carbon fiber." He then asked, "What is the value of those materials on the commodity
market?" As it turns out, the materials cost for a rocket was only about 2 percent of the
price the aerospace companies had quoted him.
Rather than buy a finished product of a rocket, Musk decided to use the insight he had gained
about the actual manufacturing cost from his First Principles thinking analysis. The result
was that he decided to go into the rocket making business, which resulted in the creation
of SpaceX.
Now that we have defined First Principles thinking, covered some of it's history, and
provided a great example of it's use in modern times, lets review what we have learned to
help solidify our knowledge and improve our understanding.
First Principles are essentially the building blocks we use to build up our understanding.
They are the fundamental pieces of our understanding, the solid ground on which our knowledge can
be built up from and raised to greater comprehension.
Repeatedly questioning assumptions until we arrive at the most fundamental elements is
a way to reach First Principles using a method known as Socratic Questioning.
First Principles thinking can be traced back to Aristotle with contributions from Rene
Descartes, Immanuel Kant, and popularized by Elon Musk in modern times.
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