Freedom of Science

A scientific principle:

If a problem is independent of a term that problem is independent of that term.

Example: Given f(x0, x1), then, the problem modeled by f(x0,x1) is independent of any term xn > x1.

Question: This principle is generally accepted and used in physics. For instance orbital motion is described by f(R,T) where x0 = radius = R and x1 = period = T, and it is independent of a constant term x2 = mass = m. Physicists apply this principle and say that “orbital motion is independent of m.”

I am wondering, though, if this principle is a casuistic principle in physics or if it is a general principle which is valid unconditionally. In the example above, f(R,T) is also independent of x3 = force = F, but physicists do not use this principle in the case of force F and they don’t say “the orbit is independent of force F.” This suggest to me that in physics this is a casuistic principle.

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