Principles and Professional Ethics for Archaeosophical Practice
Every person leaves an intellectual trace. Some are published; others are forgotten. Humanity is rapidly losing not only ideas, but also works that have not been widely disseminated or made publicly known. For some people, death brings the disappearance not only of their physical presence, but also of their thoughts.
This is not merely an individual loss; it is also a loss to humanity's shared intellectual heritage.
Work undertaken within the framework of Archaeosophyology to prevent such losses is governed by the principles set out below. Since their publication on 20 June 2026, these principles have remained open to discussion and further development.
Suggestions and feedback are welcome. Please write to arkeosofyoloji@dusunselmiras.org.
Fidelity
Whether sound or flawed, correct or incorrect, an author's thoughts must be transmitted as they stand, within their own context and historical circumstances. Nothing should be added to favour or undermine them.
Even where an account or record clearly contradicts an established scientific fact, it should nonetheless be preserved for future generations, accompanied by an appropriate reference or annotation identifying the factual correction.
Stewardship, Non-appropriation and Representation
The researcher acts solely as a custodian of the legacy, without claiming ownership of it.
A newly discovered idea of exceptional merit, or a little-known contribution to an idea, must not be appropriated. Whether the author is celebrated or obscure, recognised or entirely unknown, the text must convey the author's own voice.
Archaeosophical representation means preserving the legacy in its entirety as a trust, together with its provenance and the circumstances of its creation, and transmitting it to future generations without appropriating any part of it—not even a single concise expression.
Intellectual legacy is a trust, not a possession. It must not be made an object of commercial activity. Profit, fame or personal ideologies must not take precedence over its preservation.
An archaeosophyologist is a custodian of intellectual legacy, rather than a collector in pursuit of works. Their responsibilities are to:
- locate;
- verify;
- organise;
- preserve; and
- transmit.
Presenting a person as a saint, a genius or a flawless figure is likewise contrary to the purpose of the discipline and the principle of representation. The aim is limited to presenting the person as they appear in the available record.
Interpretation and the Limits of Intervention
Archaeosophical intervention must neither distort nor censor the source, revise it to conform to present-day views, or pass judgement on its ideas. The governing principle is to preserve it as it stands and transmit it to future generations.
Records must be understood as potentially incomplete, even where they appear internally coherent and complete. Any necessary intervention to address identifiable gaps, ambiguities or contradictions must be confined to systematic efforts to understand the author's intentions and the coherence of their thought.
Uncertainty is not a gap to be filled, but information to be preserved in its own right.
The original wording of any sentence, or even any word, must remain readily distinguishable from an amended or interpreted version.
Every intervention in the records must be explicitly identified and documented.
Identity
An intellectual legacy must not be constructed for a person who never existed or is imaginary.
Where an author has created a fictional character, it may be possible to speak of that character's intellectual legacy. Such a legacy must, however, remain strictly confined to the texts written and published by the author; it must not be extended beyond them.
Preservation of Context
Every thought grows in the soil of its own time.
Even a marginal note cannot be detached from the circumstances in which it was written. Texts must therefore be presented, wherever possible, in a manner that allows their historical contexts to be reconstructed.
Completeness
A person's contradictions, errors and unfinished ideas are also part of their legacy. They must not be disregarded.
Although documents may be prioritised for processing, they must not be ranked against one another in terms of worth or classified as important or unimportant. They should be incorporated into the legacy as the work proceeds.
The Right to Silence and Respect for Privacy
The discovery of documents, and their potential interest to others, does not in itself justify publication.
An ethical assessment is required in relation to:
- personal diaries;
- family secrets; and
- private correspondence.
Not all information or documents are public property.
Accessibility
Wherever possible, recovered materials should be archived, digitised and disseminated so that they may be transmitted to future generations.
Knowledge is brought to light in order to preserve it, not to bury it again or conceal it from others.
Shared Origins
No idea may be reduced or attributed to a single source by severing it from the people and processes that contributed to its formation.
Archaeosophical work is concerned not only with forgotten texts, but also with recovering the history of their creation and preserving the origins of the ideas they contain.
The preservation of intellectual legacy must include inquiry into how an idea emerged, the context in which it developed, whose contributions shaped it, the circumstances of its dissemination, the stages through which it passed and the influences that changed it.
The provenance, source references and historical context of texts must therefore also be investigated and documented.