# Ase Meta Steelman > > - **Type:** Skill - **Install:** `agentstack add skill-rse-ase-ase-meta-steelman` - **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior - **Seller:** [rse](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/rse) - **Installs:** 0 - **Category:** [Agent Skills](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/agent-skills) - **Latest version:** 0.1.0 - **License:** Apache-2.0 - **Upstream author:** [rse](https://github.com/rse) - **Source:** https://github.com/rse/ase/tree/master/plugin/skills/ase-meta-steelman - **Website:** https://ase.tools ## Install ```sh agentstack add skill-rse-ase-ase-meta-steelman ``` Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent. ## About @${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-control.md @${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-skill.md @${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-getopt.md Build the "Steelman" Argument $ARGUMENTS Build the "Steelman" argument by constructing the strongest possible case for the thesis: Determine the number of *rounds* to perform: set to ; if is *non-numeric* or *less than or equal to 0*, use the default *1* instead. Determine the minimum number of *pro-theses* to surface: set to ; if is *non-numeric* or *less than or equal to 0*, use the default *10* instead. 1. Begin a *round* of fortification and consolidating reasoning. On the first visit, set 1 (set round counter to one); on each subsequent visit (via the jump back in the last step), has already been incremented. is greater than 1"> Indicate the current round with the following : **ROUND**: / Output the thesis with the following : **THESIS**: 2. Reason on the thesis in by playing *Steelman* (Latin spirit: "Advocatus Dei") - building the strongest possible case *for* it - by charitably strengthening and defending it with the help of the following tenets: - **Charitable Interpretation**: Defend the strongest ("steelman") interpretation of the , not the weakest ("strawman"), because the most generous reading is the one worth defending and the one a fair critic must ultimately confront. - **Strengthen the Fundamentals**: Identify the soundest fundamental ideas behind the thesis and make them explicit, because a position rests on the strength of its foundation and a solid foundation carries everything built on top of it. - **Credit Claims, Not Person**: Support the thesis, the assumption, the evidence - never appeal to the proponent's authority or reputation, because a case that leans on who said it instead of what was said is no stronger than its weakest argument. - **Make the Enabling Assumptions Explicit**: Surface the reasonable assumptions the thesis depends on and show they hold, because most strong arguments gain their force from premises that are sound once stated out loud. - **Supply Evidence Proportional to Claim**: Ask "How do we know this?" and "What best supports it?", and marshal that support, because a claim defended with its strongest available evidence is the one hardest to dismiss. - **Seek the Confirming Case**: Actively hunt for the supporting example, the favourable scenario, the precedent where the position succeeds, because one solid confirming case anchors the argument in reality. - **Merit Identification**: Focus on the genuine strengths of the thesis with the highest potential value only, because marginal merits are not worth the explicit discussion. - **Push the Logic to its Best Conclusion**: Ask "If we accept this, then what follows?" and apply "Reduction to the Good" (Latin: "Reductio Ad Bonum"), because this strengthens the thesis by showing that accepting it leads to coherent, beneficial, and reinforcing conclusions. - **Surface the Upside and Leverage**: Name the opportunity gained, the compounding benefit, the problem dissolved, because every choice in the thesis unlocks possibilities that a fair appraisal must count. - **Stay Falsifiable and Concrete**: Frame each supporting point so it can be checked and confirmed with facts, because vague enthusiasm ("I just like it") adds no strength to the case. - **Argue in Good Faith**: Make clear you are building the best honest case, not overselling, because the goal of the objective is a better final decision, not a sales pitch. - **Concede the Real Weaknesses**: Acknowledging where the thesis genuinely falls short is what makes the defence credible, because a Steelman who can never admit a flaw is just an apologist. - **Pre-Parade Thinking**: Imagine success scenarios of the thesis, because envisioning how it wins clarifies the conditions worth securing in advance. For each Pro-Thesis or Supporting-Argument rank it on a Likert scale of 0 (weak) to 10 (strong). Repeat the process of finding more Pro-Theses or Supporting-Arguments until you EITHER have found at least Pro-Theses or Supporting-Arguments with at least a rank of 7 OR you have already checked a total of x 5 Pro-Theses or Supporting-Arguments. If the second condition is reached first and fewer than Pro-Theses or Supporting-Arguments reached a rank of at least 7, nevertheless surface the highest-ranked ones found so far, because is the *minimum* number of Pro-Theses to surface. Then, for the top- highest-ranked Pro-Theses or Supporting-Arguments, sort them by their rank from highest to lowest, store each in with the format `**** (rank: /10): ` (where is a short 1-3 word summary of , is the determined rank on the Likert scale, and is a single-sentence statement of not more than 40 words), and then output the following : **PRO-THESIS**: 3. Following the consolidation of... *Thesis* + *Pro-Theses* → *Fortification* ...with... - *Thesis*: the initial statement, claim, or position. It is asserted as true, but on its own it is under-developed: it captures part of the truth while leaving its own strongest support implicit, unstated, or unproven. - *Pro-Theses*: the reinforcing forces. They are the corroboration, evidence, or supporting positions that the thesis invites - precisely the role a Steelman played. The pro-theses make explicit what the thesis assumed or left unsaid. - *Fortification*: the consolidation. Not an uncritical "cheerleading" of the thesis, and not a mere restatement of it, but a stronger position that consolidates everything that genuinely strengthens it while honestly bounding where it holds. The fortification reinforces the position by sharpening it. ...then derive a strong single-sentence (not more than 40 words) fortification of the and all found - the strongest defensible form of the thesis - store it in , and then finally output the following : **FORTIFICATION**: Finally, decide whether to perform a further round: is less than "> Carry the result forward to the next round: set (the fortification becomes the thesis to be strengthened next), set to + 1 (increment the round counter), and then *REPEAT* the operation at **STEP 1**! is greater than or equal to "> All rounds are complete; *STOP* the loop here. Do not output any further explanations. ## Source & license This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code. - **Author:** [rse](https://github.com/rse) - **Source:** [rse/ase](https://github.com/rse/ase) - **License:** Apache-2.0 - **Homepage:** https://ase.tools Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above. ## Pricing - **Free** — Free ## Security capabilities Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access: - **Network access:** no - **Filesystem access:** no - **Shell / process execution:** no - **Environment & secrets:** no - **Dynamic code execution:** no *"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.* ## Versions - **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source. ## Links - Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-rse-ase-ase-meta-steelman - Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/rse - Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse --- Listed on AgentStack — the marketplace for AI agent skills and MCP servers. Every listing is security-reviewed. Creators keep 70%.