Ceteris Parabis: “The Latin Principle”

When life turns a shade of gray and decisions get complicated, focusing on the most important principles can see us through.

Lately in General Conference, among many other themes and important messages, I’ve seen two ideas that provide an interesting contrast to each other:

  1. This generation has a great potential for righteousness and has been saved to be the Lord’s people in the latter days.
  2. The standards and morals of the world are quickly deteriorating and it will get even worse.

We often talk about how great this generation is, but let’s not forget why. While David A. Bednar was president of Brigham Young University, Elder Maxwell came to speak for a devotional. In their conversations that day, Elder Maxwell made a statement that impressed President Bednar. He said, “The youth of this generation have a greater capacity for obedience than any previous generation,” (“Things as They Really Are,” David A. Bednar, Ensign, June 2010)

And yet, “now we live in a world where people are confused. If you don’t believe it, go and watch the news,” (Children’s Songbook, no. 110). The world today offers so many shades of gray. For many, they’ve abandoned absolute concepts of right and wrong altogether. I have a younger sister about to enter high school and a brother-in-law who just finished high school. I haven’t been out of high school that long and I still marvel at some of the challenges they are facing that I didn’t even dream of having to deal with.

How is this generation to keep its moral compass strong in a world that is seemingly harder and harder to navigate successfully?

Keep this question in mind, we’ll come back to it.

Economic Functions

Businesses face complex decisions all the time. There are a lot of factors to balance before a company can determine a quantity to produce and a price to sell at. What kind of factors are we talking about? Some include:

  • Labor costs (who to hire and when they should work?)
  • Equipment costs (called capital)
  • Interest rates
  • Advertising
  • Household Income (when this changes, how does it change demand for my product?)
  • The price of related goods
  • Taxes and other regulations
Not only do I need to be aware of these factors, but as an economist, I want to figure out how much these impact my business. To do that, I use statistical regression analysis (sounds like fun right?) to get an idea of a ‘best fit’ formula that accounts for most combinations of the factors above. This formula is called an economic function. It often looks something like this:
Quantity=300,000-25P+2A+.003I-.09PR-.0002T
If all that sounds confusing, it can be. One of my professors calls it ‘soup making’. You keep experimenting with different combinations and tests until you come out with a reciepe that ‘tastes’ the best. Each variable (represented by a letter) can changes the resulting ideal quantity. Where do I begin? How in the world do I make the right decision on how much to sell and what price?
Enter Ceteris Parabis.

‘All Else Equal’

Ceteris Parabis is Latin for ‘all else equal’. When making important economic decisions, we isolate the most important factors hold everything else constant. From the long equation above, we focus on the most important relationship: price and quantity. To hold everything else constant means to assign those other factor a value and not change it. Like a science experiment, you only want to test one relationship at a time.

Let’s pretend we are able to make some estimates for A, I, PR and T above and hold them constant. We do the math and combine them into one constant figure. The long, complicated formula above becomes:

Quantity=-25P+9,000

If you remember Algebra I, you might recognize your basic line formula: y=mx+b. Now it is really easy to focus on the relationship of price (P) and quantity. I can change the value of one and judge better the outcome of the other.

Application

In the decisions of life there are many choices that must be made and a thousand factors that might influence how we make the choice. Avoid getting bogged down in the details. When it get’s complicated, practice Ceteris Parabis. What is the most important relationship or principle that is at play? The scriptures are full of examples of men and women who understood the bigger principle and were able to fulfill God’s will and secure His blessings. Unfortunately there are some, like David and Solomon, who allowed other factors get in their way and it caused their downfall. Remember Dallin H. Oaks’ question: ‘where will it lead? (see ‘MB=MC post’).

In closing, I leave you with a favorite quote from Richard G. Scott:

“As you seek spiritual knowledge, search for principles. Carefully separate them from the detail used to explain them. Principles are concentrated truth, packaged for application to a wide variety of circumstances. A true principle makes decisions clear even under the most confusing and compelling circumstances. It is worth great effort to organize the truth we gather to simple statements of principle,”( “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge” Ensign, November 1993, 86).

Thanks for reading.