Incommensurable
in·com·men·su·ra·ble
/ˌinkəˈmens(ə)rəb(ə)l, ˌinkəˈmen(t)SH(ə)rəb(ə)l/
adjective
not able to be judged by the same standard as something; having no common standard of measurement.
"the two types of science are incommensurable"
MATHEMATICS
(of numbers) in a ratio that cannot be expressed as a ratio of integers.
noun
an incommensurable quantity.
Whatever the definition we want to use, it is obvious that before carrying out any scientific analysis, we must have a shared agreement on what type of entities, attributes, or modes we ought to use for obtaining a useful perception and representation of the external world. Note that this choice of ontologies takes place in a pre-analytical step before the scientific inquiry even starts. Obviously, a poor choice will affect the quality of the entire investigation.
In my view, the problem currently experienced by sustainability science lies exactly here. Being essentially a trans-disciplinary endeavor, sustainability science must handle the co-existence of multiple levels and dimensions of analysis, all of which can in principle be used to perceive and represent relevant events in the external world. Hence, sustainability science must simultaneously use different ontologies. The co-existence of different ontologies thus translates into the need to handle non-equivalent descriptive domains, irreducible scientific models, and incommensurable quantitative representations.
| Mario Giampietro , Reflections on the popularity of the circular bioeconomy concept: the ontological crisis of sustainability science