From Hume to Resolution Theory: Normativity as Control Architecture and the Unity of Kant, Mill, and Korsgaard

Start here (base logic + reading order): Free Will Without Metaphysical Magic (++++ ≠ +++=) This paper presents Resolution Theory (RT) as a naturalistic account of normativity: not a mystical property or mere social convention, but the control architecture required for time-extended agency to remain authored under exposure in a causal world. RT explains how action arises at “resolution points” where live possibilities are collapsed into commitment, and how exposure—downstream consequence and social response—disciplines reasons across time. The framework is then used to unify Kant, Mill, and Korsgaard as complementary layers of one ethical mechanism: Kant supplies universal law as low-noise system geometry, Mill supplies outcomes as the landscape of agency-expansion and contraction, and Korsgaard supplies the internal witness as the psychology of diachronic self-legibility. A dedicated section treats Hume as the great predecessor, reframing the is–ought gap as a stability constraint and the self as a functional locus without taking a stand on soul metaphysics. The paper derives a structural condemnation of slavery and exploitation as “tool-treatment” that destroys authorship, and models guilt as a feedback signal for system-noise. This paper applies and extends the Resolution Theory framework. For the consolidated architectural account, see Agency-Laundering: Resolution Theory and the Structural Recovery of Authorship.