Definition of

Criterion

Subjectivity

People can have different opinions on the same topic.

The term criterion has its origins in a Greek word that means “to judge.” Criterion is a person's judgment or discernment .

For example: “In my opinion, the referee should have called a foul against the goalkeeper,” “The artistic criteria of these controversial works is questioned by many people.”

The criterion and the subjective

The criterion, therefore, is a kind of subjective condition that allows a choice to be made. It is, in short, what supports a value judgment .

The same situation can be understood in different ways according to the criterion . If a mother slaps her son when he disobeys her, some people will agree and others will condemn the action. According to the criteria of the first group, the slap is a punishment that serves as a lesson and improves the child's behavior. Those who are not in favor, on the other hand, will have a different criterion, believing that physical punishment is never positive.

A requirement

A criterion is also a requirement that must be respected to achieve a certain objective or satisfy a need.

In this sense, that is, starting from this meaning we find a great variety of important criteria. Thus, for example, we could cite what are known as stability criteria. We can establish that they refer to the set of rules or laws that a boat must strictly comply with to achieve the necessary safety to prevent it from capsizing. Among those, the criteria of dynamics, balance amplitude or metacentric height stand out.

Discussion

In a work or study meeting, it is common for different criteria to appear.

Criterion in physics and telecommunications

On the other hand, we also find a series of important criteria in the field of physics. Among them we would highlight the so-called Rayleigh criterion or the Lawson criterion, which refer to spectral lines and energy production through fusion, respectively.

Another important criterion is, for example, the one developed in the field of telecommunications and called the Nyquist criterion. In 1928 it was established for the first time and the person in charge of undertaking this work was the Swede Harry Nyquist. Specifically, we can establish that the aforementioned theorem deals with sampling actions.

The notion in mathematics and language

In addition to the aforementioned sectors, there are also various important and weighty criteria in other areas of the scientific field. Thus, for example, in the field of mathematics there is the Cauchy condensation criterion, the Leibniz criterion or the sandwich criterion. For its part, in statistics there is also another equally relevant criterion such as the Chauvenet criterion.

The textuality criteria indicate the rules that must be met to consider that a set of sentences constitutes a text. These criteria are acceptability, cohesion, coherence, informativeness, intentionality, intertextuality and situatedness. This means that if several sentences or paragraphs appear in the same context and meet these criteria, the content can be considered a text. Otherwise, they may be isolated words or phrases that make no sense as a unit.