/assumption-negation

name: assumption-negation
description: 'Classic reductio ad absurdum: negate the core claim, derive logical
  consequences, seek contradiction or absurdity.'
type: strategy
dependencies:
  tactics:
  - contradiction-derivation
  - counterexample-heuristics
  sops:
  - claim-negation
  - claim-refinement
  - contradiction-detection
  - deductive-chain

Assumption Negation

Tactics

• contradiction-derivation
• counterexample-heuristics

Method

1. Extract the core claim or assumption from the artifact 2. Formally negate it (produce ~P from P) 3. Derive logical consequences of ~P through deductive chains 4. Evaluate whether derivation reaches genuine contradiction 5. If contradiction found: original claim survives this test 6. If no contradiction: claim may be contingent, not necessary

Budget

| Size | Negation chains | Max derivation depth | |---|---|---| | S | 3 | 5 steps | | M | 6 | 8 steps | | L | 10 | 12 steps |

Orchestration

1. Dispatch `claim-negation` to produce formal negation 2. For each negation, dispatch `deductive-chain` to derive consequences 3. Dispatch `contradiction-detection` to evaluate results 4. If no contradiction, dispatch `claim-refinement` for weakened version

Subagents

• claim-negation
• deductive-chain
• contradiction-detection
• claim-refinement

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Available Tactics

Optional, no fixed order; the final leaf is always a sop.

| Tactic | When to use | | --- | --- | | contradiction-derivation | Negate a claim, derive logical consequences step by step, detect whether a genuine contradiction or absurdity emerges. | | counterexample-heuristics | Generate counterexamples (monsters), attempt monster-barring, incorporate surviving counterexamples as lemma refinements (Lakatos method). |

Available SOPs

Optional, no fixed order; the final leaf is always a sop.

| SOP | When to use | | --- | --- | | claim-negation | Formally negate the core claim, producing the logical complement for reductio testing. | | claim-refinement | Propose a refined claim that survives counterexamples while preserving maximum explanatory power (Lakatos lemma-incorporation). | | contradiction-detection | Evaluate whether a derivation chain has reached a genuine contradiction, absurdity, or inconclusive state. | | deductive-chain | Derive logical consequences step by step from a given premise, building a traceable derivation chain. |

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