Skip to content
Carmelics
TopicsThinkersChangesContributorsLoading account…

    Carmelics

    A reasoning platform. Break down any belief into clear reasons, explore both sides, and weigh the evidence honestly.

    Navigate

    • Topics
    • Search
    • Recent Changes
    • Contribute
    • How It Works
    • Glossary
    • Thinkers
    • Contributors
    • About
    • Statistics
    • Terms
    • Privacy

    Database

    Statements
    —
    Perspectives
    —
    Topics
    —

    Press ? for keyboard shortcuts

    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
    Made withinDC&Austin
    Statements
    321,452
    Perspectives
    108,905
    Topics
    42
    Reichenbach's own Common Cause Principle requires that th... — Carmelics
    Home
    HistoryEditSee Inverse

    Part of a larger discussion

    Challenges→Every conjunctive fork ACB where C is earlier than A and B must belong to a closed fork ABCD

    Reichenbach's own Common Cause Principle requires that the common cause genuinely explain the correlation, but a formally constructed D = U_t'(C) may be a gerrymandered set with no causal-explanatory unity.

    ?Rate how convincing each reason is below to see the overall strength.
    1 reason for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
    ?
    • 1.Formal set construction D = U_t'(C) is purely mathematical, tracking statistical dependencies without regard for causal mechanisms or physical unity.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.Genuine explanation requires the cause to manifest a unified causal process, not merely satisfy statistical conditional independence constraints.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.Gerrymandered sets can satisfy probabilistic criteria while lacking the conceptual coherence needed for causal-explanatory power.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Any set satisfying the formal criteria of Reichenbach's principle has thereby demonstrated sufficient unity to qualify as a legitimate common cause.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.The distinction between 'gerrymandered' and 'genuinely unified' causes cannot be made formally precise without importing extra-logical metaphysical assumptions.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.Explanatory power derives from conditional independence relations; causal unity is a pragmatic concern orthogonal to explaining actual correlations.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Sign in or register to share your perspective on this statement.

    Next step

    Based on where you are in your exploration

    Strongest counterpoint
    Explore the most compelling reason on the other side.

    Key Terms

    Common Cause Principle(Philosophy of causation; attributed to Reichenbach)
    The principle that any correlation between two variables that are not causally related to each other must be explained by a common cause.
    D = U_t'(C)
    The set of microstates obtained by evolving the microstates of C forward in time to t', representing the future evolution of C
    Reichenbach, Hans(the statement refers to his principle about causation)
    A 20th-century philosopher and physicist who developed ideas about how we can prove that one thing actually caused another, especially when we only observe them happening together.
    causal-explanatory unity(what a real cause should have)
    The quality of genuinely being one single cause that logically explains why things are connected, rather than just being a random jumble of unrelated things grouped together.
    correlation(Skyrms's model of the evolution of justice)
    A parameter measuring the degree to which interacting individuals are similar to one another genetically or culturally, influencing the basin of attraction for cooperative equilibria
    gerrymandered set(describing a fake or poorly constructed cause)
    A group of things that have been artificially grouped together based on convenience or arbitrary rules, rather than having something genuinely in common (like drawing a weird-shaped voting district to include certain neighborhoods).

    Connections

    1 topic

    Causation1 linked

    Related

    Any set satisfying the formal criteria of Reichenbach's principle has thereby de...Every conjunctive fork ACB where C is earlier than A and B must belong to a clos...Explanatory power derives from conditional independence relations; causal unity ...Formal set construction D = U_t'(C) is purely mathematical, tracking statistical...

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit
    +3 moreShow less
    Genuine explanation requires the cause to manifest a unified causal process, not...Gerrymandered sets can satisfy probabilistic criteria while lacking the conceptu...The distinction between 'gerrymandered' and 'genuinely unified' causes cannot be...