contextdependence

Context dependence, also written as contextdependence, refers to the dependence of meaning, function, or outcome on surrounding conditions. In practice, a property or signal is not fully determined by its intrinsic attributes but must be interpreted within a broader frame that includes time, space, social setting, prior information, and other cues.

In linguistics and philosophy, words, utterances, or symbols often have meanings that vary with context. Indexicals such as I, here, now, or demonstratives like this depend on the speaker's situation. The truth-conditions of statements can shift with context, a focus of dynamic or contextual semantics.

In biology and medicine, gene expression, metabolism, and phenotypes can depend on the cellular environment and developmental stage. Epigenetic changes and gene–gene interactions illustrate how context shapes biological outcomes. In computer science and AI, context-aware computing, contextual embeddings, and scene or user context improve disambiguation and decision making.

In physics and related disciplines, measurement outcomes can depend on the experimental setup or reference frame. In social sciences, cultural norms, prior experiences, and current goals influence behavior and interpretation.

Studying context dependence involves controlling or measuring contextual factors, developing models with interactions or context features, and acknowledging boundaries of generalization. While context helps adapt to environments, it also complicates prediction and comparison across situations.