Alternative consequences and asymmetry of results: their importance for policy decision making

Ladders of abstraction, support factors, and semantics in the design of policies

“…But the metaphor of horizontal is precisely meant to indicate that the level of abstraction does not change. According to Ivarola, in the horizontal search, 'policy makers consider whether the support factors included in the studied population are needed in the target population as well' (Ivarola, 2019). This consideration truly is an act of concretisation.…”

“…The real world of the policy is material or causal, but Cartwright and Hardie's cakes are logical in kind. Theories about what policies might work are essentially 'not about causal contributions but about logical relations' (Ivarola, 2019). Hence the inability for a proposed policy to cope with an ever-changing world.…”

“…Leonardo Ivarola recently published a paper in this journal (Ivarola, 2019) in response to Cartwright and Hardie's (2012) book 'Evidence based policy. A practical guide for doing it better' (henceforth EBP).…”