The Origin Story of Herd Ethics
Often, the best way to explain something is to tell how it began. Herd Ethics is no different. It wasn’t created out of a desire to invent a new ethical system. It came from the recognition that we needed one.
Let me explain.
For a long time, I’ve been fascinated by the question of who gets ahead in society and why. The old story of the haves and have-nots. One night, while sitting on the couch with my wife, just talking about our kids, something hit me. A flash of insight: Cognitive capital—that might be the key difference in life outcomes.
Let’s define it:
Cognitive capital is the ability to acquire, synthesize, and apply knowledge to create value.
Not exactly a radical idea on its own, most would agree this is the fuel behind economic success. The first hunter who made a bow and arrow, for example, gained a massive advantage. He could bring home more food, faster, than those without it.
So I got up, walked to my computer, and started writing. It was 11 PM. I didn’t stop until 2 AM. That flash of insight led me to a thread. And when I pulled it, the thread just kept coming.
Let’s go back to that hunter.
If one person invents the bow and arrow, who owns the advantage it creates?
Questions like this show up in the paper, The Stewardship of Cognitive Capital.
Does the efficient hunter owe anything to his tribe? Is it moral for him to hunt in a tenth of the time and spend the rest of the day lounging by the water while someone else in the herd dies of starvation?
That scenario forced a deeper question:
To whom does cognitive capital belong?
Why do we pretend success is purely earned when it clearly stands on scaffolding others built? And if cognitive capital is herd-dependent, emerging from a shared infrastructure, doesn’t that mean it carries a duty? Stewardship, not hoarding.
That’s when things changed.
As the thread unraveled, it didn’t just explain cognitive capital. It pointed toward a whole ethical framework—one not based in sentiment or niceness, but in structure and survival. It offered clarity on the obligations of individuals, corporations, even artificial intelligences. It revealed something big:
A system where moral responsibility flows from shared viability.
A system that ultimately defines what morality is, not just what it looks like (justice, kindness, etc.).
That thread, pulled in the dark, in the quiet, while my kids slept, didn’t stop.
It became Herd Ethics.
And I believe it may be not just a framework, but the moral framework for the 21st century.
As you can imagine, the full mechanics of a coherent ethical framework don’t fit neatly into a short-form post.
That said, I’ve managed to distill the core into one structure: The Core Moral Equation of Herd Ethics (found in Appendix 1 of the book).
Consider this post a teaser, something that gestures toward the answers, with the full structure just a few clicks away.
The complete Herd Ethics book is available for free as a downloadable PDF at HerdEthics.com.
Prefer paperback or Kindle? It’s also available on Amazon for a low cost.
You’ll also find the companion paper, The Stewardship of Cognitive Capital, available for free in PDF form.
More papers will follow, both here on Medium and at HerdEthics.com.
How you can help:
Before publishing a single word to the public, I wrote a full book and multiple papers. The groundwork is done.
If these ideas resonate with you, I’d love for you to:
- Join the Herd Ethics mailing list (on the homepage of the herdethics.com website)
- Follow @AshtonCampbell on Medium (I will be posting content and papers on Medium)
- Or simply share this work with someone who might value it.
I’m also open to an academic home for this project whether through a fellowship or collaborative opportunity.
If you believe Herd Ethics deserves wider traction and institutional support, I’d be glad to connect.
You can reach me through the contact form on the website or directly at:
ashton at herdethics dot com
Either way, I’ll keep pulling the thread and revealing what I find.
But it would be good to build this together.
