Actual causation : a stone soup essay
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Synthese
Publication Date
1-1-2010
Volume
175
Issue
2
First Page
169
Last Page
192
Keywords
Actual causation, Bayesian networks, Combinatorics, Intervention, Intuitions
Abstract
We argue that current discussions of criteria for actual causation are ill-posed in several respects. (1) The methodology of current discussions is by induction from intuitions about an infinitesimal fraction of the possible examples and counterexamples; (2) cases with larger numbers of causes generate novel puzzles; (3) "neuron" and causal Bayes net diagrams are, as deployed in discussions of actual causation, almost always ambiguous; (4) actual causation is (intuitively) relative to an initial system state since state changes are relevant, but most current accounts ignore state changes through time; (5) more generally, there is no reason to think that philosophical judgements about these sorts of cases are normative; but (6) there is a dearth of relevant psychological research that bears on whether various philosophical accounts are descriptive. Our skepticism is not directed towards the possibility of a correct account of actual causation; rather, we argue that standard methods will not lead to such an account. A different approach is required. Once upon a time a hungry wanderer came into a village. He filled an iron cauldronwith water, built a fire under it, and dropped a stone into the water. "I do like a tasty stone soup" he announced. Soon a villager added a cabbage to the pot, another added some salt and others added potatoes, onions, carrots, mushrooms, and so on, until there was a meal for all.
DOI
10.1007/s11229-009-9497-9
Print ISSN
00397857
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media B.V. Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Glymour, C., Danks, D., Glymour, B., Eberhardt, F., Ramsey, J., Scheines, R., Spirtes, P., Teng, C. M., Zhang, J. (2011). Actual causation : a stone soup essay. Synthese, 175(2), 169-192. doi:10.1007/s11229-009-9497-9