Provisional vs Conditional
While reading through a bunch of essays on various aspects of epistemology, I began to realise that a lot of students were using the words 'provisional' and 'conditional' interchangeably. It irked me, for a few reasons which will become apparent in this post.
The word 'provisional' comes from Latin providere, 'to look ahead'. It developed towards its present meaning by first adopting the sense of 'to put forward in expectation (of a future state of affairs)'. When we use it in a religious manner, as in, "God's providence has supplied our needs," we are actually using it in the old sense of God's 'foresight'.
The word 'conditional' comes from Latin condicere, 'to talk together' or 'to speak with'. It assumes that there is an agreement between two parties, and as it became a legal term, it came to imply a state (condition) which would automatically arise given a certain situation or prior state (pre-condition).
The first term therefore assumes the future, the second term assumes the past. They are very different. To be exact, a provisional conclusion is one which is considered to be true and will continue to be true unless the situation changes to make it not true; it is a conclusion in advance of future events. A conditional conclusion is one which will be true as long as every precondition is met; it is a conclusion arrived at as long as specific prior events have occurred.
You can think of the two as follows. A provisional conclusion is stated in the form, "Provided that things remain the same, this is the conclusion." A conditional conclusion is stated in the form, "Since these preconditions have occurred, we have no choice but to conclude that this condition now exists."
After this point, the two may behave somewhat alike, because if something new and significant happens, both kinds of conclusion may change. A provisional conclusion can become definite if a fact arises that verifies it, or it can be nullified if a fact arises that falsifies it. A conditional conclusion remains true, but if something significant happens after the conclusion is made, then it is time to make a new conclusion as a condition of the previous state plus whatever just happened.
In the English language, there are no true synonyms. Where two words may be used interchangeably, one is normally better than the other. Clarity in communication is important, and good word-choice aids in the clarification of ideas.
The word 'provisional' comes from Latin providere, 'to look ahead'. It developed towards its present meaning by first adopting the sense of 'to put forward in expectation (of a future state of affairs)'. When we use it in a religious manner, as in, "God's providence has supplied our needs," we are actually using it in the old sense of God's 'foresight'.
The word 'conditional' comes from Latin condicere, 'to talk together' or 'to speak with'. It assumes that there is an agreement between two parties, and as it became a legal term, it came to imply a state (condition) which would automatically arise given a certain situation or prior state (pre-condition).
The first term therefore assumes the future, the second term assumes the past. They are very different. To be exact, a provisional conclusion is one which is considered to be true and will continue to be true unless the situation changes to make it not true; it is a conclusion in advance of future events. A conditional conclusion is one which will be true as long as every precondition is met; it is a conclusion arrived at as long as specific prior events have occurred.
You can think of the two as follows. A provisional conclusion is stated in the form, "Provided that things remain the same, this is the conclusion." A conditional conclusion is stated in the form, "Since these preconditions have occurred, we have no choice but to conclude that this condition now exists."
After this point, the two may behave somewhat alike, because if something new and significant happens, both kinds of conclusion may change. A provisional conclusion can become definite if a fact arises that verifies it, or it can be nullified if a fact arises that falsifies it. A conditional conclusion remains true, but if something significant happens after the conclusion is made, then it is time to make a new conclusion as a condition of the previous state plus whatever just happened.
In the English language, there are no true synonyms. Where two words may be used interchangeably, one is normally better than the other. Clarity in communication is important, and good word-choice aids in the clarification of ideas.
Labels: Epistemology, Etymology
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