Interpretive Literacy Framework (ILF): How Ethical Claims Fail, and Why Interpretation Matters

The Interpretive Literacy Framework (ILF) is a non-authoritative, educational framework that examines how ethical and alignment-related claims are interpreted rather than how actions are prescribed or enforced. The framework analyzes common interpretive failure modes, including mimicry, strategic omission, authority laundering, and narrative compression, and introduces interpretive practices that increase scrutiny without reliance on scoring, certification, or enforcement mechanisms. ILF is designed to support human interpretation under conditions of uncertainty and asymmetrical incentives. It emphasizes constraint visibility, counterfactual legibility without causal attribution, and the importance of human-in-the-loop judgment. The framework makes no claims of prevention, compliance, or causal impact and is published as a final, read-only work.