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    If necessary connection were merely the product of repeat... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→The habit of inductive inference produces the idea of necessary connection

    If necessary connection were merely the product of repeated experience, then a single observed causal sequence would produce no idea of necessity, yet agents form immediate causal judgments on first encounters.

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    1 reason for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

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    Reason for
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    • 1.Infants demonstrate causal understanding before sufficient repeated exposure, suggesting innate causal intuitions rather than learned necessity.
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    • 2.First encounters with novel causal sequences often trigger predictions matching later repeated cases, indicating immediate necessity detection.
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    • 3.Pure repetition without underlying mechanism cannot explain why agents distinguish genuine causes from mere coincidences on initial exposure.
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    Reasons Against

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    Reason against
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    • 1.Agents' 'immediate' causal judgments rely on prior accumulated experiences encoded in cognitive schemas, making the single case appear immediate.
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    • 2.Initial causal judgments often prove wrong and require correction through repeated experience, showing they aren't reliable guides to necessity.
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    • 3.Pattern-recognition mechanisms naturally generate expectation of continuity from single observations without requiring metaphysical necessary connection.
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    Key Terms

    Causal sequence(as used in understanding how actions happen)
    A chain of events where one thing causes the next thing to happen, like dominoes falling one after another.
    first encounters(epistemology)
    The very first time you experience or observe something, before you've seen it happen repeatedly.
    idea of necessity(epistemology/philosophy of mind)
    A mental understanding or belief that something must happen—that there's no way around it. It's the feeling that an outcome is inevitable, not just likely.
    immediate causal judgments(epistemology/philosophy of mind)
    Quick, automatic conclusions about cause-and-effect that happen instantly in your mind, without needing to think about it carefully. Like immediately knowing that a ball falling is caused by gravity.
    necessary connection(Hume's account of the origin of the concept of causation, Treatise I.III.14)
    The felt sense of the mind being pulled from one impression to an associated idea, which the mind then projects onto external objects as if it were a connection among the objects themselves
    repeated experience(epistemology)
    Seeing the same thing happen over and over again. For example, watching water boil every time you heat it to 100°C gives you repeated experience of that pattern.

    Connections

    2 topics

    Causation1 linkedSkepticism1 linked

    Related

    Agents' 'immediate' causal judgments rely on prior accumulated experiences encod...First encounters with novel causal sequences often trigger predictions matching ...

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit
    Infants demonstrate causal understanding before sufficient repeated exposure, su...
    Initial causal judgments often prove wrong and require correction through repeat...
    +3 moreShow less
    Pattern-recognition mechanisms naturally generate expectation of continuity from...Pure repetition without underlying mechanism cannot explain why agents distingui...The habit of inductive inference produces the idea of necessary connection