Contingency

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This page is about logic. For the type of attorney's fee, see contingent fee.

In philosophy and logic, contingency is the status of facts that are not logically necessary. See modal logic. Contingency is opposed to necessity: a contingent act is an act which could have not been, an act which is not necessary (a necessary act is an act which could not have not been).

In colloquial English, a contingency is something that can happen, but that generally is not anticipated. Planning for contingencies often requires a more imaginative approach, because contingencies are inherently not obvious. Large organizations, such as governments, are often criticized for not planning for contingencies because the construction of plans to deal with contingencies often involves thinking outside the box. Beforehand, contingencies are hard to predict; this failure to appreciate contingencies ahead of time has led to the formulation of Murphy's law.

[edit] See also

• Contingency theory
• Problem of the futures contingents

[edit] External links

• Michael Shermer, "Glorious Contingency," Metanexus Net [1]