Concept in Definition ABC

The word "cause" is used in reference to a system or order of things made up of at least two elements where A is the cause of B, according to the logical operation of that order. This is called a causal or causal relationship between the two items: A is the cause of B, or B is an effect of A. In most cases, it is necessary for A to occur for B to also occur. In others, if B does not occur, neither can A.

The causal relationship is widely studied in the natural sciences, where it is stated that "Everything that happens in the natural world has a cause". For example, often in the investigation on natural phenomena or disasters, as part of which it seeks to establish an order in which the appearance of Certain symptoms or signs may be interpreted as causal warnings in order to anticipate a tragedy. This is also the case in physics, where the monitoring of causal relationships is considerably more thorough from the point of view of considering that when dealing with situations or scenarios with a high degree of predictability, the occurrence of the cause always precedes the effect.

Sometimes it is prudent to note that there are phenomena in nature in which the cause-effect relationship is modulated by factors called concauses. An interesting example consists of the action of tobacco in terms of the appearance of lung cancer; Although tobacco consumption is a clear cause and the tumor is its direct effect, the presence of certain factors can increase the probability the event occurs (genetic predisposition, for example) or reduce this risk (antioxidants?).

But a cause can be found in the social Sciences or in disciplines not related to the "hard sciences". Causality is the subject of in-depth analysis by the statistics and the marketing, which seek to establish the reasons why, for example, a consumer will purchase a certain product after seeing a advertising, or, predict the evolution of financial actions. In statistics, for example, it is accepted that an event can be the cause of another process under certain probability conditions; For this, complex calculations and operations are available that, although they are never 100% certain, allow us to approach the definition of a causal relationship more or less exactly.

In the sociology it also seeks to understand the cause of mass social phenomena; for example, adhesion or rejection of a figure politics, the growth of a nation, or the fall of a socio-political regime. In these cases, the discovery of the causes is perhaps a little less precise, because the probability plays a very accentuated role and the enormous influence of the concauses, given the complexity of the society.

Among the concepts linked to the idea of ​​cause is the Domino Theory or the Snowball Effect, which suggests that the occurrence of a certain factor of various kinds will lead to the replication of the same action in similar environments. For example, this theory is used to explain why if a country supports a certain ideology or political system, it is likely that others in its area will also adopt it. Is hypothesis it also makes it possible to clarify why an apparently simple trigger can precipitate a series of large changes in a more or less reduced time. Even the "snowball effect" has been used to explain how a small variation that seems attributed to chance can give rise to very complex and unbalancing phenomena for society and life everyday.