ET CETERIS PARIBUS
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1173 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Epistemology, ontology or semantics |
This well known latin quotation whose meaning is “other things being equal” is in fact the banner concept of linear causality.
It is of course a pure abstraction. Context-free situations do not exist. There is not one single natural sequence of events in which all “other things are equal”. It is also unsound to postulate the identity of two merely similar situations. They only should be compared, which of course leads to discover not only their similarities, but also their differences.
- “This ceteris paribus limitation account for the inability of otherwise able analysts to develop meaningful scenarios for the future. It is a source of serious problems in risk management” (I.I. MITROFF and H.A. LINSTONE, 1993, p.126).
Nevertheless, the linear causality concept remains very useful to obtain functional laws and principles that can be used within limits of validity'' that must be established.
Models thus constructed on a linear causal basis should be considered either as approximations whose use must be qualified, or as formalisms of some specific type.