Normative governance of cognition by abstract objects constitutes a species of causal influence under interventionist accounts of causation like Woodward's, since ideal reasoners' beliefs co-vary with logical facts under intervention.

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Reasons For

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Reason for

1.Woodward's interventionism requires only counterfactual dependence: if we intervene on logical facts, ideal reasoners' beliefs would differ accordingly.
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2.Abstract objects like numbers causally influence us through their normative force on rational cognition, similar to how laws guide behavior.
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3.Ideal reasoners' beliefs tracking logical facts under all possible interventions satisfies interventionist criteria for causal influence.
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Reasons Against

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Reason against

1.Interventionist causation requires the intervener to be external and physically efficacious; abstract objects lack the physical causal powers this demands.
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2.Ideal reasoners' conformity to logic reflects normative governance, not causal influence—the dependence is conceptual, not causal.
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3.Counterfactual covariance alone doesn't establish causation; barometer readings co-vary with weather under intervention but don't cause it.
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Key Terms

Causal influence(as used in philosophy of action): The ability to affect or bring about a result through some chain of events or actions.
Co-vary(beliefs co-varying with logical facts means when logic changes, beliefs change along with it): When two things change together—if one changes, the other changes in a related way.
Ideal reasoners(the statement uses ideal reasoners to test whether abstract logical facts influence thinking): Hypothetical perfect thinkers who always follow logic correctly and never make mistakes in reasoning.
Interventionist accounts of causation(philosophy of science, metaphysics): A theory of causation that says X causes Y if changing X would change Y—like how flipping a light switch causes the light to turn on because manipulating the switch changes the light's state.
Woodward(as a philosopher whose framework is being discussed): James Woodward is a philosopher who developed an important theory about how causation works, focusing on the idea that causes are things we could intervene in or change to affect outcomes.
abstract objects(The target of Platonist ontological claims): Objects referred to by singular terms in literally true sentences that cannot be paraphrased away; includes mathematical objects (e.g., numbers), propositions, properties, relations, sentence types, possible worlds, logical objects, and fictional objects.
cognition(Interpretation of Kant's use of 'cognition' (Erkenntnis) as pertaining to meaning/intelligibility rather than merely knowledge): A semantic notion (on the interpretation described)
normative(in ethics and philosophy): Relating to how things should be or what people ought to do, rather than just describing how things actually are.

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Modality & Possibility1 linked

Abstract objects like numbers causally influence us through their normative forc...Abstract objects necessarily lack causal powers.Counterfactual covariance alone doesn't establish causation; barometer readings ...Ideal reasoners' beliefs tracking logical facts under all possible interventions...

Details

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