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    Made withinDC&Austin
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    42
    In Mellor's G&H world with equally distributed chains, th... — Carmelics
    Home/Causation
    HistoryEditSee Inverse

    In Mellor's G&H world with equally distributed chains, there can be no causal relationship between the individual b and the individual a.

    Causation
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    2 reasons for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

    2 perspectives
    Reason for 1 of 2
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    • 1.Causation requires that the cause make a difference to the effect, as Mackie's INUS condition and Lewis's counterfactual analysis both demand.
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    • 2.In the equally distributed G&H world, b makes no probabilistic difference to a, since P(a|b) = P(a|¬b) holds symmetrically across chain types.
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    • 3.A factor that is statistically and counterfactually inert with respect to an outcome cannot be its cause, regardless of any token-level narrative connecting them.
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    Reason for 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Salmon's mark transmission theory requires that a causal process transmit a conserved quantity or mark continuously from cause to effect along a single spatiotemporal path.
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    • 2.In Mellor's equally distributed world, there is no fact of the matter about which chain type connects individual b to individual a, so no determinate causal process is identifiable.
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    • 3.Without a determinate process individuating b's influence on a from the background of equally numerous contrary chains, the token causal relation dissolves into mere correlation.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.In Mellor's G&H world, the number of G-chains and H-chains is equal, making the probabilities equal.
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    • 2.When the occurrence of a or not-a happens under exactly the same circumstances given b, no causal relationship between individual b and individual a can be established.
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    Causation

    Related

    A factor that is statistically and counterfactually inert with respect to an out...Causation requires that the cause make a difference to the effect, as Mackie's I...In Mellor's G&H world, the number of G-chains and H-chains is equal, making the ...In Mellor's equally distributed world, there is no fact of the matter about whic...
    +4 moreShow less
    In the equally distributed G&H world, b makes no probabilistic difference to a, ...Salmon's mark transmission theory requires that a causal process transmit a cons...When the occurrence of a or not-a happens under exactly the same circumstances g...Without a determinate process individuating b's influence on a from the backgrou...

    Similar

    Mellor does not prove the result generalizes to worlds where G-chains ...81%When the occurrence of a or not-a happens under exactly the same circu...81%Mellor's negative argument is inadequate because it fails to show that...80%In Mellor's G&H world, the number of G-chains and H-chains is equal, m...78%

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: causation-backwards
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    Some philosophers have not found this argument very convincing. Faye (1994) has pointed to the following problematic issues. First, Mellor measures the probability of singular events (propensities) instead of the probability of certain kinds of events. Second, he does not differentiate between circumstances in which a \(B\) is followed by an \(A\) and those in which a \(B\) is not followed by an \(A\). The argument is valid only if it can be proved, and not be stipulated, that (1) and (3) happen
    Extraction notes

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

    Details

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