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    Counterfactual analysis of causation is well suited to ha... — Carmelics
    Home/Causation
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    Counterfactual analysis of causation is well suited to handle chancy (probabilistic) causation

    Causation
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    1 reason for
    2 reasons against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
    ?
    • 1.Counterfactual dependence requires only that the cause was necessary in the circumstances for the effect, not that the cause was sufficient for the effect
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    • 2.Chancy causation does not require the cause to be sufficient for the effect
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    Reasons Against

    2 perspectives
    Reason against 1 of 2
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    • 1.In chancy causation, the counterfactual 'if C had not occurred, E would not have occurred' is false when E had nonzero probability without C.
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    • 2.Lewis's closest-world semantics cannot distinguish genuine probabilistic causes from mere probability-raisers when alternative causal paths exist.
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    • 3.Schaffer's trumping preemption cases show counterfactual dependence fails even in deterministic contexts, and indeterminism multiplies such failures.
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    Reason against 2 of 2
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    • 1.Probabilistic causation requires that causes raise the probability of effects, a relation that counterfactual necessity cannot capture without modification.
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    • 2.Noordhof and Hitchcock demonstrate that token-level chancy causation demands resources beyond counterfactual dependence, such as actual probability contributions.
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    Causation

    Related

    Chancy causation does not require the cause to be sufficient for the effectCounterfactual dependence requires only that the cause was necessary in the circ...In chancy causation, the counterfactual 'if C had not occurred, E would not have...Lewis's closest-world semantics cannot distinguish genuine probabilistic causes ...
    +3 moreShow less
    Noordhof and Hitchcock demonstrate that token-level chancy causation demands res...Probabilistic causation requires that causes raise the probability of effects, a...Schaffer's trumping preemption cases show counterfactual dependence fails even i...

    Similar

    Backward causation is possible84%Change is closely tied to the notion of causation.83%Nomic causation is a kind of causation distinct from ordinary causatio...83%A priori knowledge of the concept of causation is achievable82%

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: causation-counterfactual
    View source passageHide passage
    In principle a counterfactual analysis of causation is well placed to deal with chancy causation, since counterfactual dependence does not require that the cause was sufficient, in the circumstances, for the effect – it only requires that the cause was necessary in the circumstances for the effect. The problem posed by abandoning the assumption of determinism, however, is that pervasive indeterminism undermines the plausibility of the idea that – preemption and overdetermination aside – effects
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (1 for, 2 against)
    Edits
    1 edit