First-principles thinking is essentially a form of disengaged logic. It invokes a strategy to develop understanding by approaching a topic from a completely clean slate - to throw away any cultural, moral, traditional, etc. connection to what is being observed before analyzing it.
Once this is done, you step back and observe.
The issue is that without context all you see is a collection of meaningless objects. They are just there. Just something to be interacted with.
It follows that if there is no other significance to them, the only logical thing to ask is “What can I do with them to benefit me?“.
Connections
Narcissistic Authenticity Drives The Individual Towards Instrumental Reasoning
Instrumental Reason Forces Technological Solutions
Reference
� The Ethics of Authenticity