The causation tag has no usage guidance.
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How do epiphenomenalists make sense of discussions about qualia?
Epiphenomenalists believe that mental events have no causal effect on the physical. They may differ in what they consider "mental events" but it seems all of them would consider qualia / phenomenal ...
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3answers
106 views
Will AI make falsifiability obsolete?
With the advances in machine learning, data mining and process of big data, soon machines will find patterns that could either interpreted as causation or correlation while we have no idea of the ...
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0answers
9 views
How is 'social meaning of an action' a human action's Formal Cause?
Capaldi PhD Columbia, Smit PhD Catholic Univ. of Leuven. The Art of Deception (2007). p. 213.
Please see the red arrow beneath. How can 'social meaning of an action' be the Formal Cause, when it ...
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1answer
23 views
Why's an acorn's Formal Cause “structural potential to become an oak tree”?
Capaldi PhD Columbia, Smit PhD Catholic Univ. of Leuven. The Art of Deception (2007). p. 191.
According to Aris-totle, the concept of "causation" has to be understood in four
different senses. [....
5
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5answers
2k views
If we imagine a world that functions without causality, how absurd could it be?
If we assume that there's a universe that is devoid of causality, and if we assume that it isn't eternally static, would that mean that everything can happen because there are no reasons inhibiting ...
5
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7answers
126 views
How are the actions of conscious beings interpreted in terms of cause and effect?
When there's inanimate objects such as two billiard balls, we determine that ball C is the cause of Ball D's movement if C collides with D and shoves it. In addition, because ball C is an inanimate ...
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2answers
54 views
Can the principle of sufficient reason be applied to the whole of existence?
Many philosophers (Leibniz and Heidegger, to name but two) consider "Why is there something rather than nothing" the most difficult and important question. Given that "nothing" is a possibility among ...
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4answers
98 views
If I use an object to produce an effect, am I the direct or the indirect cause of the effect?
People appeared to approach this question as if it were about whether I can be held liable for the action of breaking a window (the main example). However, this question has nothing to do with law; ...
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2answers
70 views
Is causality a type of necessary and sufficient condition?
Does 'A caused B' mean that A is a necessary and sufficient condition for B?
Imagine that we go to a shop and buy two items with a total cost 40 dollars (30 for 1st item and 10 for the 2nd). Is the ...
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1answer
48 views
Are physical forces a non-entity cause?
I have been browsing some posts in this StackExchange where I encountered a rather odd proposition that
Gravity and other forces are non-entity causes.
I fail to see how that is the case. I ...
2
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1answer
57 views
Is there a theory in philosophy that time can be reduced to causation?
Some people really believe that the past somehow physically exists even if it's past. Like the universe has some kind of container where all its past states are stored. On the other hand, there are ...
3
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2answers
72 views
Causality: is it possible for one attribute to be found in one node but not the others before it?
This is a rather basic question about causality and logical reasoning, but I'm a bit confused over it (especially in terms of the "first cause" argument).
Causality (from Wikipedia):
Agency or ...
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2answers
79 views
If purpose is just another side of cause, is everyone a consequentialist?
Purpose is just another side of cause. This is what I take as a premise. One might change "cause" by "reason" sometimes, both are related.
Every non-randomistic process has some end after which this ...
3
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13answers
622 views
Sketch of a proof for real free will?
I have read many contemporary philosophers and the mainstream view seems to be that real free will is an illusion in the sense that consciousness is an emergent phenomenon which is only set on top of ...
2
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1answer
33 views
Can the immediate effect of a cause be considered a part of the cause? If not, why?
I was wondering whether heat from a fire can be considered part of the fire (heat will definitely exist merely in the presence of fire)? Or, whether sunlight can be considered part of the sun (...
5
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1answer
43 views
Aristotle's middle point between teleological eliminativists and teleological intentionalists
I'm reading an introduction to Aristotle's theory of causation, Aristotle by Christopher Shields, and I understand that he says that Aristotle's view of final causes is between teleological ...
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0answers
67 views
On the explanation of facts
As a chemist, I have some philosophical doubts about explanation of facts.
Short intro
In Bertrand Russell's book 'History of Western Philosophy' he says that the question that leads to scientific ...
1
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1answer
61 views
The subtle difference between interaction and causal effect (law of cause and effect)
I was talking with a friend about autonomous cars, he said to me that for these cars is required full interaction with other vehicles. I thought that with "interaction" he was referring to "...
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0answers
50 views
How does Hume justify his account of the origin of causation to a general sense?
Hume's account of causation explains why we think specific things have causes and explains them in terms of their constant connection in our minds such that we associate them by "habit". Hume brings ...
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2answers
89 views
Can we assume that there are infinitely many possible states of the world at time t + 1?
I wasn't exactly sure where to post this question, so I decided that it's sufficiently philosophical in nature to warrant its being posted here. I may end up posting it on Mathematics SE as well.
I'...
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2answers
103 views
Does Nagarjuna's MMK offer any interesting arguments against the existence of a God?
Does Nagarjuna's MMK offer any interesting arguments against the existence of a God?
I believe that it's meant to be a refutation of the view that dharmas, elements of cognition, have svabhava, or ...
3
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0answers
42 views
What is the difference between Avicenna's and al-Ghazâlî's understandings of causality?
In the 17th discussion of The Incoherence of the Philosophers, Al-Ghazali attempts to explain how a certain view of causality (which we can see is quite certainly intended to be that espoused by ...
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2answers
187 views
Why is the mind/body problem considered to be particularly hard?
Non-philosopher here. I apologize in advance for any imprecise language.
Why is the notion that mental states exist and arise from brain states especially perplexing? Aren't what entities exist and ...
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0answers
64 views
Downward causation and unpredictable pattern formation in cellular automata [closed]
In Cellular Automatas , like game of life, different preliminary conditions will produce different pattern, that are unpredictable. Some of these large complex structures can effect on the internal ...
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3answers
1k views
What fallacy infers motivation from mere description?
Here's some example:
"Men dominate women in the majority of fortune top 100 CEO positions"
"Women dominate men in primary school teaching jobs"
Neither the men nor the women are actually purposely ...
0
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2answers
63 views
Question on causation
I have a question on causation
Presuming transitive causation such as :
A causes B causes C,
Where we say A causes C
Is it correct to say:
A causes C in virtue of causing the effect that is B that ...
10
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6answers
341 views
Is it a logical flaw to blame someone for an event if they were simply its causal factor?
I would ask if this is a logical fallacy, but I don't think you can consider wrongful attribution of blame to be a logical fallacy, because attributing blame is a normative claim, not a descriptive ...
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1answer
239 views
Hume (Cause and Effect and Substance)
Having some trouble understanding how Hume arrives at the concepts of cause and effect and substance. Does any of it have to do with every perception being a distinct experience or that causation ...
1
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1answer
120 views
How are “causal” loops avoided in Aristotelian-Thomistic metaphysics?
If we take Aquinas' first way, for example, the inference that a chain of movers exist, is readily made, but no defense for this assumption is given.
Usually the argument is interpreted so, that all ...
7
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4answers
430 views
What was Kant's argument that causation is necessary for observation?
In this comic, the fictional Immanuel Kant talks about investigating David Hume's "An Inquiry Concerning Human Reason". Hume, in that work, argued that we only see two things happening in sequence and ...
3
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3answers
292 views
How can effects be thinkable without a law of causality?
The following quotes are from Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus.
6.36 If there were a law of causality, it might run: “There are natural laws”...
6.54 My propositions are ...
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2answers
140 views
Causal Closure and God
It seems many philosophers and scientists alike accept the idea of causal closure. This page states,
Belief in this kind of causality is deeply held by many philosophers and scientists. Many say it ...
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0answers
39 views
How does Tooley's “simple world” refute the counterfactual account of causality?
In Causation: Reductionism Versus Realism, Michael Tooley proposes a thought experiment where we imagine a simple world with only two "causal laws":
For any object x, x's having property P for a ...
5
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2answers
217 views
Does Hume's skepticism about causality depend on his belief that all ideas are derived from sense impressions?
I'm aware of Hume's argument and definitions of cause (though I'm very much open to any kind of discussion around the topic). But I'm most interested in how important his assertion that all ideas are ...
5
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1answer
1k views
What is the “Law of Causality”?
Is there a Law of Causality? Or a principle of Causality?
Someone used that in an argument with me and I couldn't find much information on the subject.
Thank you in advance.
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1answer
132 views
According to determinism, what came first- the cause or the reason?
We know that every effect begins with a cause. Also, every cause produces an effect (otherwise it wouldn't be a cause because it wouldn't cause anything to happen).
Likewise, we know that every ...
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0answers
19 views
Cannot we argue that pluralism 'unite[s] the family of causes' `in virtue of the epistemological facts of how we use them in our thinking`?
Source: p 83-84 Top. Causation: A Very Short Introduction (1 ed 2013) by Stephen Mumford, Rani Lill Anjum.
Making the right inferences
There is at least one attempt to explain what unites all ...
2
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1answer
70 views
How does additive interference cause causation to fail?
Source: p 48 Bottom - 49 Top. Causation: A Very Short Introduction (1 ed 2013) by Stephen Mumford, Rani Lill Anjum.
The Production Process
The argument from additive interference has a broad ...
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4answers
268 views
When trying to identify causality, do we assume “nearness” between cause and effect?
When asking people what causes what, it seems that they assume that causality has something to do with "temporal nearness" and "space nearness". That is:
If I turn on the light switch and the lamp ...
7
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2answers
318 views
What is the logical structure of this argument by a Hindu philosopher about causation?
The Khandana Khanda Khadya is a work by the 12th century Hindu philosopher Sri Harsha which in some sense sets out to disprove epistemology - it seeks to show that all putative means of knowledge, ...
3
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2answers
268 views
Does gravity cause things to fall?
I always thought that science is something we model out of the real world. That is, we basically observe a few things and then we come up with a model to explain the observations and predict more.
In ...
5
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2answers
100 views
Is conception an Aristotelian efficient, or material cause?
Someone asks you the question,
"Why are you?"
You reply
My parents conceived me.
Am I correct in saying that your conception, according to Aristotle, is the efficient cause of your existence, ...
2
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1answer
46 views
Does Epictetus State “Only One Cause Motivates Us”, Or “One Cause More than Others”?
1. Question:
From Epictetus, Discourses, 1.11, (Perseus English Link):
Is Epictetus implying there is only ever just one cause for our actions?
Or, is Epictetus arguing there is one cause which ...
0
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1answer
84 views
What is the difference between correlation and sufficient causation? [duplicate]
I have been told that X is a sufficient cause of Y if every time X happens, Y happens, too. However, isn't it the same as 'correlation'? For instance, if I say that global temperature is correlated ...
2
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0answers
39 views
What are some alternatives to Mill's induction methods?
I have been taught that Mill's methods for identification of causes (agreement, difference, etc.) only apply when we can define our universe of possible causes very strictly (i.e., when we know all ...
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0answers
67 views
Why did Spinoza believe that God's infinity, but not God's perfection, implied causal necessity?
Source: p 121, Philosophy: A Complete Introduction (2012) by Prof Sharon Kaye (MA PhD (Philosophy), U. Toronto)
6. For Spinoza, causal necessity is implied by which of the
following?
a) ...
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1answer
346 views
Why would David Hume judge 'bread nourishes' as a Matter of Fact, and not a Relation of Idea?
Source: p 115, Philosophy: A Complete Introduction (2012) by Prof Sharon Kaye (MA PhD in Philosophy, U. Toronto). Caution: I rewrote numerals as integers for easier reading.
1 Relations of ideas ...
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2answers
56 views
Apparent causation in a strictly causally determined world
Imagine an automata universe (an example of a universe in which all causation is defined as an operation on the current state of the object of change defined by a set of immutable rules/axioms, which ...
4
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3answers
324 views
Why did the chicken cross the road?
I understand more or less why
To get to the other side.
can be considered to be a valid answer to the question: Why did the chicken cross the road?
I don't understand why Aristotle's final cause ...
5
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3answers
779 views
What is the difference between correlation and causation?
What is the difference between correlation and causation?
Pirates and Global Temperature Example
For example, how do we know when we're dealing with correlation only and not also causation here?
...
