Ага, прямо сегодня мне в огород с самолета листовки кидали... хотя нет, - вчера тоже кидали... и позавчера.
На сайте проекта есть раздел "философия GNU". Там всё подробно расписано. Также прямо в дистрибутивах (не всех, да) распространяют текст "The Jargon File", где весь жаргон MIT'овских хакеров 70-х подробно изложен:
“The word hack doesn't really have 69 different meanings”, according to MIT hacker Phil Agre. “In fact, hack has only one meaning, an extremely subtle and profound one which defies articulation. Which connotation is implied by a given use of the word depends in similarly profound ways on the context. Similar remarks apply to a couple of other hacker words, most notably random.”
Hacking might be characterized as ‘an appropriate application of ingenuity’. Whether the result is a quick-and-dirty patchwork job or a carefully crafted work of art, you have to admire the cleverness that went into it.
An important secondary meaning of hack is ‘a creative practical joke’. This kind of hack is easier to explain to non-hackers than the programming kind.
Да и в других словарях английского языка:
hacker
noun
1. a person or thing that hacks.
2. Slang . a person who engages in an activity without talent or skill: weekend hackers on the golf course.
3. Digital Technology .
a) a person who has a high level of skill in computer technology or programming; a computer expert or enthusiast: My brother is a real hacker—he fixed my laptop in no time.
b) a person who circumvents security and breaks into a network, computer, file, etc., usually with malicious intent: A hacker got into my computer remotely and wiped my hard drive! The company has hired hackers to test system security.
Это в русский язык, по ходу, криво заимствовали.
. Зачем дразнить гусей, когда можно обойтись и без этого. Принципами тоже надо уметь пользоваться, не размахивать ими на каждом углу и по любому поводу. 
