Fixed-Point Theorems and the Ethics of Radical Transparency: A Logic-First Treatment
By: Faruk Alpay, Hamdi Alakkad
Potential Business Impact:
Proves perfect honesty always causes problems.
This paper establishes a formal framework, grounded in mathematical logic and order theory, to analyze the inherent limitations of radical transparency. We demonstrate that self-referential disclosure policies inevitably encounter fixed-point phenomena and diagonalization barriers, imposing fundamental trade-offs between openness and stability. Key results include: (i) an impossibility theorem showing no sufficiently expressive system can define a total, consistent transparency predicate for its own statements; (ii) a categorical fixed-point argument (Lawvere) for the inevitability of self-referential equilibria; (iii) order-theoretic design theorems (Knaster-Tarski) proving extremal fixed points exist and that the least fixed point minimizes a formal ethical risk functional; (iv) a construction for consistent partial transparency using Kripkean truth; (v) an analysis of self-endorsement hazards via L\"ob's Theorem; (vi) a recursion-theoretic exploitation theorem (Kleene) formalizing Goodhart's Law under full disclosure; (vii) an exploration of non-classical logics for circumventing classical paradoxes; and (viii) a modal $\mu$-calculus formulation for safety invariants under iterative disclosure. Our analysis provides a mathematical foundation for transparency design, proving that optimal policies are necessarily partial and must balance accountability against strategic gaming and paradox. We conclude with equilibrium analysis and lattice-theoretic optimality conditions, offering a principled calculus for ethical disclosure in complex systems.
Similar Papers
Transfinite Fixed Points in Alpay Algebra as Ordinal Game Equilibria in Dependent Type Theory
Logic in Computer Science
Proves infinite computer processes always finish.
An abstract fixed-point theorem for Horn formula equations
Logic in Computer Science
Proves computer programs are correct and safe.
Induction and Recursion Principles in a Higher-Order Quantitative Logic for Probability
Logic in Computer Science
Helps computers understand how likely things are.