Guessing here: If you have a breaker switch after an additional switch, labelling the breaker with 'on/off' may be misleading as 'on' doesn't necessarily mean the connected device is powered. It may be off because the other switch is off.
The config file can't guarantee the interface will be up when it's loaded as that depends on external factors but it can guarantee the interface will not be shut down.
I've used "no shutdown" as an example of illogical UI for decades because it seems backwards as the user, especially when new to IOS and trying to learn by exploring, but from this perspective it makes sense.
> but from this perspective it makes sense
No, it's just a clunky way to remove the config line, it has nothing with the engineering safety.
It's still better than Huawei's lingo, though.