# Meta Details [Youtube Video]() Book: [[The Great Mental Models Volume One - Shane Parrish]] Tags: #Idea ## Idea Name **Quote:** > First principles thinking is one of the best ways to reverse-engineer complicated situations and unleash creative possibility. Sometimes called reasoning from first principles, it’s a tool to help clarify complicated problems by separating the underlying ideas or facts from any assumptions based on them. What remain are the essentials. If you know the first principles of something, you can build the rest of your knowledge around them to produce something new. > > Socratic questioning can be used to establish first principles through stringent analysis. > > Socratic questioning can be used to establish first principles through stringent analysis. This is a disciplined questioning process, used to establish truths, reveal underlying assumptions, and separate knowledge from ignorance. The key distinction between Socratic questioning and ordinary discussions is that the former seeks to draw out first principles in a systematic manner. > > Socratic questioning generally follows this process: > 1. Clarifying your thinking and explaining the origins of your ideas. (Why do I think this? What exactly do I think?) > 2. Challenging assumptions. (How do I know this is true? What if I thought the opposite?). > 3. Looking for evidence. (How can I back this up? What are the sources?) > 4. Considering alternative perspectives. (What might others think? How do I know I am correct?) > 5. Examining consequences and implications. (what if I am wrong? What are the consequences if I am?) > 6. Questioning the original questions. (Why did I think that? Was I correct? What conclusions can I draw from the reasoning process?) ----------------- **Reflection:** First principles thinking is something you hear a lot of CEO's and founders talk about if you listen to interviews with them. For me, this is the essence of good decision making (and if you get paid to make decisions you better have a process). Think about the last time you had to make a decisions: maybe whether to buy a house, start a business or even close down a business. How did you decide? Likely it was a gut feeling. Which I don't discount at all! But wouldn't you feel better about that decision next time if you understood why you were making it? First principles thinking and [[Socractic Questioning]] and [[The Five Why's]] are both great places to start when making decisions.