Conditions That Cause Problems Are Also Problems
Some problem conditions are not experienced as troublesome per se by citizens
but are perceived by them, or by analysts working on their behalf, to be causes
of troubles. It is sometimes useful to diagnose one or more alleged causes of this
type and to define these as problems to be mitigated or removed, for instance,
"One of the problems in the air pollution area is that states have not been willing
to force motorists to keep their engines tuned up and their exhaust systems in
proper order."
Note that this sort of problem definition is not merely descriptive but is also
diagnostic. It implicitly asserts that some condition, which may or may not be
troubling to people per se, is an important cause of some other condition that is
indeed troubling. Problem definitions that pretend to some diagnostic power can
be useful, but they can also be treacherous. Suppose, after all, that the causal
diagnosis is mistaken or misleading, for example, that states' unwillingness to
enforce engine maintenance routines is ?zot in fact a very important cause of air
pollution. Because definition in some contexts connotes legitimate arbitrariness
("I'll define 'justice' to mean . . .") the causal claims implicit in diagnostic problem
THE EIGHTFOLD PATH 5
definitions can easily escape needed scrutiny. See "Project the Outcomes" for
further discussion.