Chapter 8 - Causation

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Annotated Bibliography

Helen Beebee. 2003. Seeing Causing.: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/; Considers the question of whether causal relations are observable
Donald Davidson. 1967. Causal Relations.: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2023853; Defense of a regularity theory, including a discussion of the relata of causal relations
J.L. Mackie. 1965. Causes and Conditions.: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20009173; Defends the INUS-condition regularity theory
David Lewis. 1973. Causation.: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2025310; Defense of a counterfactual theory of causation with objections to regularity theories
Michael Strevens. 2007. Mackie Remixed.: http://www.strevens.org/research/expln/MacRules.pdf; Defends a version of the nomic regularity theory that responds to traditional worries
Laurie Paul. 2000. Aspect Causation.: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2678392; A counterfactual theory of causation better able to handle difficult cases, e.g. causal preemption
David Lewis. 2000. Causation as Influence.: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2678389; A revised version of Lewis's counterfactual theory to better handle difficult cases, e.g. of causal preemption
Ellery Eells. 1986. Probabilistic Causal Interaction: http://www.jstor.org/stable/187920; Addresses some of the challenges for developing a probabilistic theory of causation
Michael Tooley. 1990. Causation: Reductionism versus Realism: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2108040; Argues against reductive theories of causation
Wesley Salmon. 1994. Causality Without Counterfactuals.: http://www.jstor.org/stable/188214; Defense of a physical process theory
Jonathan Schaffer. 2000. Causation by Disconnection.: http://www.jonathanschaffer.org/disconnection.pdf; Raises worries for physical process theories involving cases of causation involving absences
Judith Jarvis Thomson. 2003. Causation: Omissions.: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/; A discussion of causation by omission, with a response to worries for process theories
Alyssa Ney. 2009. Physical Causation and Difference-making.: http://bjps.oxfordjournals.org/; Makes a distinction between analytic and empirical accounts of causation and argues for causal foundationalism: the view that physical causal facts ground facts about difference-making
Carolina Sartorio. 2005. Causes as Difference-makers.: http://link.springer.com/; Explores and defends the idea of causes as difference-makers
Nancy Cartwright. 1979. Causal Laws and Effective Strategies.: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2215337; Argues that causal concepts figure essentially in scientific theorizing and testing

Annotated Weblinks

http://www.philostv.com/: Ned Hall and L.A. Paul discuss causation and the counterfactual theory at Philosophy TV.
http://philosophybites.com/2012/07/: Huw Price discusses the possibility of backwards causation at Philosophy Bites.
http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/metaphysical/: An interview with L.A. Paul at 3:AM Magazine on causation, metaphysics, and other topics.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/causation-metaphysics/: The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on the metaphysics of causation by Jonathan Schaffer.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/causation-process/: The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on causal processes by Phil Dowe.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/causation-counterfactual/: The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on counterfactual theories of causation by Peter Menzies.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/causation-probabilistic/: The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on probabilistic theories of causation by Christopher Hitchcock.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-hume-causality/: The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on Kant and Hume's views on causation by Graciela De Pierris and Michael Friedman.

Discussion Questions

The text describes some proposals for which types of entities stand in causal relations (events, tropes, facts, substances). Give one example each of a causal relation between events, a causal relation between tropes, one between facts, and one between substances.
Describe the most plausible example you can of a case of causation with an observable causal link.
A crucial component of Hume's account of how we acquire the idea of causation involves the expectation that an event of type-B will follow upon an event of type-A. Do you think it's possible to know that causation occurs even in the absence of such an expectation? What would be an example that illustrates your view?
Come up with an original case in which a nomic regularity theory would have to count an epiphenomenon as a cause.
Which objection to the probabilistic theory of causation do you find most powerful? Sketch how the probabilistic theory might be modified to address this objection.
Come up with three cases many would consider to be examples of causation by omission.
For each case of causation by omission from question 6, state the counterfactual whose truth the simple counterfactual theorist will claim is sufficient for this being a case of causation. In your view, is it plausible that there can be such cases of causation even in the absence of physical processes?
Explain Tooley's objection to reductive theories of causation in your own words.
Come up with your own example, such as a criminal trial or a psychological experiment, in which a specific theory of causation would have a real-world implication. Which theory is it, and what in your example would be different if that theory were false?
Which of the theories in the text seems correct to you as an analytic account of causation?