# Transcendental values `kaal:entity:transcendental-values` **Status.** derived This node is assembled mechanically from the 23 claims that carry the concept tag `transcendental-values`. It is a roster of what the corpus says under this term. It is **not** an adjudicated definition: no single statement here has been ruled canonical, and no first-appearance call has been made. Read the claims and judge for yourself. ## Every claim under this term 23 claims across 8 works, 2019 to 2021. **2019** - [3402701-038](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3402701-038) [condition/argued] -- Because the Folk Theorems make governance protocols permanently provisional, long-term stability requires that the group be organized around a transcendental value, a goal meaningful and commonly held that cannot be captured by any logical rule set. > Therefore, for long-term stability, a group must be organized around a transcendental value that guides the members' behavior Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, Vadhindran K. Rao, Stable Cryptocurrencies - First Order Principles (2019). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3402701 - [3402701-039](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3402701-039) [design/argued] -- Commonly held expressions of organizational values are essential to designing and implementing any governance structure and are far more important in decentralized organizations, which inherently have less motivational structure than centralized hierarchies. > such values are far more important in decentralized organizations, which inherently have less motivational structure than centralized hierarchies Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, Vadhindran K. Rao, Stable Cryptocurrencies - First Order Principles (2019). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3402701 **2021** - [3782192-019](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782192-019) [condition/argued] -- The second necessity for long-term stability is that the organization hold to its ideals and transcendental values, so that the spirit of the law overrides the letter of the law. > Second, the organization needs to hold to its ideals, its tran- scendental values. The spirit of the law must override the letter of the law. Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, Introduction to Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782192 - [3782192-020](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782192-020) [mechanism/argued] -- Governing by transcendental values, ideals that everyone understands but no one can concretely attain, reduces members' motivation to probe the limits of acceptable behavior and therefore reduces the policing the organization must pay for. > If the or- ganization is governed by transcendental values—ideals that everyone understands yet they can never practically attain or properly instantiate concretely—then people have less motivation to probe the limits of acceptable behavior. Less policing is then required Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, Introduction to Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782192 - [3782193-009](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782193-009) [empirical/evidenced] -- Sacralized law generates more stable and successful institutions than secular belief systems, as shown by evidence that religious communes outlast secular communes at every stage of their life course. > In fact, sacralized law has been shown to generate more stable and successful insti- tutions than secular beliefs. Sosis explains "religious communes are more likely than secular communes to survive at every stage of their life course." Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, Historical Sketches of Centralization vs. Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782193 - [3782193-010](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782193-010) [mechanism/argued] -- Transcendental values are more stable unifiers of a group than formal secular rules. > From an abstract perspective, transcendental values are more stable unifiers than formal secular rules. Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, Historical Sketches of Centralization vs. Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782193 - [3782193-013](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782193-013) [mechanism/argued] -- Because a transcendental value is by definition not rigorously formalizable, people organizing around an eternally unobtainable ideal without clear boundaries are less likely to probe the boundaries of acceptable behavior. > On the other hand, a transcendental value by defini- tion is not rigorously formalizable. When people organize around an eternally unob- tainable ideal without clear boundaries, they are less likely to probe the boundaries of what is acceptable. Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, Historical Sketches of Centralization vs. Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782193 - [3782193-014](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782193-014) [design/argued] -- An ideal DAO with open membership for anonymous members from any culture can maintain harmony only if its members share a transcendental value, work toward a common purpose even if that purpose is simply profit, and share fairly in the spoils of the work. > An ideal DAO has an open membership policy for any anonymous person from any culture on the planet. How can they maintain harmony? They must share a tran- scendental value, work toward a common purpose (even if it's simply profit), and share fairly in the spoils of the work. Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, Historical Sketches of Centralization vs. Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782193 - [3782193-019](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782193-019) [normative/argued] -- The lesson the authors draw from Imperial China and Pharaonic Egypt is that decentralization of power and individual autonomy give long-term stability when the society also has unifying ideals it can believe in. > The lesson of Im- perial China, and Pharaonic Egypt before it, is that decentralization of power, individ- ual autonomy, gives long-term stability when there are unifying ideals that the society can believe in. Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, Historical Sketches of Centralization vs. Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782193 - [3782193-020](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782193-020) [condition/argued] *(failure mode)* -- Without a transcendental spiritual or philosophical principle to unify a society, its rules erode as exceptions to the routine are discovered that improve function temporarily yet violate the founding principles of the culture, and such violations split the population. > With- out a transcendental spiritual/philosophical principle to unify a society, the rules erode as exceptions to the routine are found which improve function temporarily, yet violate the founding principles of the culture. Such violations split the population. Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, Historical Sketches of Centralization vs. Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782193 - [3782203-002](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782203-002) [condition/argued] -- Building effective and efficient DAOs requires three things together: a secure and meaningful reputation system, maximum bureaucratic transparency through a dynamic governance structure, and coherent transcendental values for long-term stability. > In this chapter we argue that building effective and efficient DAOs requires a secure and meaningful reputation system, maximum bureaucratic transparency through a dynamic govern- ance structure, and coherent transcendental values for long-term stability. Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, A Technical Perspective on Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782203 - [3782203-015](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782203-015) [definitional/argued] -- Keeping dynamic rules coherent over the long run requires a decentralized organization to commit to transcendental values as primary, where transcendental means values that cannot be specified precisely, logically, and completely with formal rules. > To keep these dynamic rules coherent in the long run, a decentralized organization must commit to transcendental values as primary. Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, A Technical Perspective on Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782203 - [3782205-012](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782205-012) [failure/argued] *(failure mode)* -- Historically, whenever a healthy decentralized organization began to earn money it quickly devolved into a centralized institution, because its uniting ideals shifted from transcendental value to a desire for money. > Whenever a healthy decentralized organization in the past began to earn money, it quickly devolved to a centralized institution. Their ideals shifted from the transcen- dental value which originally united them to a desire for money. Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, Eight Institutions for the Evolution of Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782205 - [3782205-037](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782205-037) [condition/argued] -- DAOs derive their unity from ideals and aspirations that lie beyond their protocols, making strong unifying transcendental values the most important requirement for long-term coherence and stability. > DAOs derive unity from their ideals, their common goals and aspirations beyond the protocols. This final requirement is the most important for long-term stability, and will require eternal reevaluation. Decentralized institutions require strong unifying values to remain coherent. Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, Eight Institutions for the Evolution of Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782205 - [3782214-033](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782214-033) [condition/argued] *(failure mode)* -- Without unifying transcendental ideals, liminal cases will fragment a decentralized network; transcendental values are therefore always necessary to maintain the stability of a network and should be the first thing a DAO establishes. > Without such unifying ideals, liminal cases will fragment the network. Ultimately, transcendental values are always necessary to maintain the sta- bility of a network, so they are the first thing the DAO should establish. Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, Decentralized Governance (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782214 - [3782217-038](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782217-038) [mechanism/argued] -- Review creates a decentralized history for a DAO, and that history gives the organization momentum, gives meaning and focus to perception, and is the basis for making governance, understood as steering, more effective. > Review helps create a decentralized history for a DAO, which gives them momentum. History gives meaning and focus to our perceptions. History is the basis for making governance (steering) more effective. Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, The Importance of History In Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782217 - [3782217-040](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782217-040) [condition/asserted] -- The most important aspect of a decentralized organization, and the feature that ultimately determines its long term success, is the group's set of transcendental values. > The most important aspect of a decentralized organization, the feature that ultimately de- termines its long-term success, is the group's set of transcendental values. Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, The Importance of History In Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782217 - [3782220-001](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782220-001) [condition/asserted] -- Strong unifying values are the institution most essential to the long-term stability of a decentralized organization, and they demand continual reevaluation rather than one-time specification. > This final essential institution is the most important for long-term stability, and demands eternal reevaluation. Decentralized organizations require strong unifying values to remain coherent. Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, The Importance of Transcendental Unifying Values for Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782220 - [3782220-004](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782220-004) [condition/argued] -- Transcendental values are necessary for long-term stability because every formal, explicitly specified protocol is permanently exposed to strategies that subvert it, a result the authors draw from the Folk Theorems of game theory. > By the insights gleaned from the Folk Theo- rems of Game Theory, transcendental values are necessary to maintain long-term sta- bility in the face of ever-present strategies for subverting any formal, explicitly-speci- fied protocol. Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, The Importance of Transcendental Unifying Values for Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782220 - [3782220-021](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782220-021) [failure/argued] *(failure mode)* -- Transcendental values must remain transcendental, because once formalized too rigorously they become more manipulable: a clearly specified definition becomes a focal point for competition instead of a unifying principle. > they need to remain transcendental. Once they are formalized too rigorously, they become more manipulable. For example, once the definition of ne- cessity versus non-essential is specified clearly, it becomes a focal point for competi- tion, instead of a unifying principle Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, The Importance of Transcendental Unifying Values for Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782220 - [3782220-031](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782220-031) [failure/argued] *(failure mode)* -- As an organization loses touch with its transcendental values, members use the rules to jockey for position in the hierarchy and corruption erodes the organization's effectiveness. > As an organization loses touch with its transcendental values, members use the rules to jockey for position in the hierarchy, and corruption erodes the effective- ness of the organization. Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, The Importance of Transcendental Unifying Values for Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782220 - [3782220-035](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782220-035) [design/argued] -- Unlike scientific laws, transcendental values cannot be stated formally and explicitly, so they must be authored by people in touch with transcendental beauty, true poets, who are nevertheless grounded in concrete understanding of the universe and its laws. > Transcendental values cannot be stated formally and explicitly, unlike scientific laws. People who are in touch with transcendental beauty, true poets, need to be the authors of our transcendental values. Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, The Importance of Transcendental Unifying Values for Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782220 - [3782220-040](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782220-040) [condition/argued] -- Decentralized organizations are only as stable as their autonomous members' adherence to their ideals, and that same autonomy makes members individually responsible for constructing, nourishing, and revitalizing those unifying ideals continually. > They're as stable as their autonomous members' adherence to their ideals. But their very autonomy requires the members to construct the unifying ideals for themselves. They are individually responsible for nourishing and revitalize those unifying ideals, continually. Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, The Importance of Transcendental Unifying Values for Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782220 ## Verify Every claim above resolves to a record carrying a verbatim source quote, the sha256 of the source PDF, and a preformatted citation. 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