Causation
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Causation | |
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| Type | Metaphysical concept |
| Field | Metaphysics; Philosophy of science |
| Core idea | Relation by which one event brings about, produces, or makes a difference to another |
| Assumptions | Events can stand in dependency relations; explanatory connections can be distinguished from mere correlation |
| Status | Contested |
| Related | Determinism; Explanation; Laws of nature; Counterfactuals |
Causation is a philosophical concept concerned with the relation by which one event brings about, produces, or makes a difference to another. Claims about causation are central to explanation, prediction, and control, both in everyday reasoning and in scientific practice.
Despite its ubiquity, the nature of causation—what it is for one event to cause another—remains a subject of sustained philosophical debate.
Core idea
At its core, causation involves dependency: changes in one event are connected to changes in another in a way that supports explanation. To say that one event caused another is to claim that the occurrence of the second depended, in a relevant way, on the first.
Causation is typically distinguished from mere correlation, which may involve regular association without a causal link.
Causation and explanation
Causal claims play a central role in explanation. Explaining an event often involves identifying its causes and showing how they contributed to its occurrence.
However, not all explanations are causal, and causal explanations may abstract away from many details of underlying mechanisms.
Causal necessity and sufficiency
Philosophers analyze causation using notions of necessity and sufficiency. A cause may be sufficient to bring about an effect, necessary for it, or neither, depending on context and background conditions.
These distinctions highlight the complexity of causal relations in real-world systems.
Regularity accounts
One influential approach treats causation as regular succession: events of one type are regularly followed by events of another type. On this view, causal relations are patterns of constant conjunction governed by laws.
Critics argue that regularity alone cannot distinguish genuine causation from accidental correlation.
Counterfactual accounts
Another approach analyzes causation in terms of counterfactual dependence: an event causes another if, had the first not occurred, the second would not have occurred.
Counterfactual accounts aim to capture causal relevance but face challenges in cases involving overdetermination or preemption.
Mechanistic accounts
Mechanistic approaches emphasize underlying processes and structures that transmit causal influence. On this view, causation involves physical, biological, or functional mechanisms connecting cause and effect.
This approach aligns closely with scientific practice but raises questions about abstraction and generality.
Probabilistic causation
In some contexts, causes do not guarantee effects but alter their probabilities. Probabilistic accounts treat causation as increasing or decreasing the likelihood of outcomes.
These accounts are often applied in fields such as medicine, social science, and quantum physics.
Causation and laws
Causation is often linked to laws of nature. Some accounts treat laws as grounding causal relations, while others view laws as descriptive summaries of causal patterns.
The direction of dependence between laws and causation remains contested.
Causation and determinism
Causation is closely related to determinism. Deterministic views often treat causes as sufficient conditions for effects, while indeterministic views allow for causal relations that do not fix outcomes uniquely.
This relationship shapes debates about prediction, control, and free will.
Limits and disagreement
There is no single accepted theory of causation. Disagreement persists over whether causation is fundamental or derivative, whether it is objective or perspective-dependent, and how it should be analyzed.
These disagreements reflect differences in explanatory goals and metaphysical commitments.
Status
Causation is a central but contested concept in metaphysics and the philosophy of science. Its analysis clarifies how events are connected, how explanations are structured, and where claims about dependence are warranted.