AIM Framework glossary
Completeness Criterion for General Theory Status (CCGT)
Canonical definition
The Completeness Criterion for General Theory Status (CCGT) is the principle that a theory of a system qualifies as a general theory only if it can in principle account for every reliably observed output of that system, directly or via derivation from its principles, such that a theory which cannot even in principle generate predictions about a major category of system output is incomplete rather than general, regardless of its success within its own domain.
Explanation
CCGT sets the bar for what counts as a general theory, as distinct from a partial theory. Self-Determination Theory, for example, has fifty years of validated findings about intrinsic motivation and autonomy, but if it cannot account for mimetic escalation, crisis dynamics, or confabulation, it is an excellent partial theory, not a general one. Similarly, Girardian mimetic theory illuminates rivalry and scapegoating but does not generate predictions about homeostatic regulation or flow states. AIM claims general-theory status because its axioms, the Three-Source Taxonomy, Common-Currency Integration, Source Opacity, Confabulation, Preconscious Transmission, Bayesian Belief Dynamics, collectively entail predictions across all major categories of motivational output. CCGT is the standard against which this claim should be tested: identify any reliably observed motivational phenomenon that AIM cannot derive from its axioms, and AIM fails the criterion. See Replacement Requirement and Foundational-Entailment Distinction.
Epistemic status
Metatheoretical Principle.
Derivation
Related terms
- Foundational-Entailment Distinction (FED)
- Replacement Requirement
- Derivation-Not-Ambition Principle (DNA-P)
- AIM Framework
- Three-Source Taxonomy (Axiom 1)