A Theory of Causation: Causae Causantes (Originating Causes) as Inus Conditions in Branching Space-Times.
Branching space-times (BST) theory, as developed elsewhere, permits a sound and rigorously definable notion of ‘originating cause’ or causa causans-a type of transition event—of an outcome event. Mackie has famously suggested that causes form a family of ‘inus’ conditions, where an inus condition is...
| Publicado en: | British Journal for the Philosophy of Science Vol. 56; no. 2; pp. 221 - 254 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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University of Chicago Press
Jun2005
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| Sumario: | Branching space-times (BST) theory, as developed elsewhere, permits a sound and rigorously definable notion of ‘originating cause’ or causa causans-a type of transition event—of an outcome event. Mackie has famously suggested that causes form a family of ‘inus’ conditions, where an inus condition is ‘an insufficient but non-redundant part of an unnecessary but sufficient condition’. In this essay the needed concepts of BST theory are developed in detail, and it is then proved that the causae causantes of a given outcome event have exactly the structure of a set of Mackie inus conditions. The proof requires the assumption that there is no EPR-like ‘funny business’. This seems enough to constitute a theory of ‘causation’ in at least one of its many senses. |
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