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Causes As Difference‐Makers For Processes

Loew, Christian (2017) Causes As Difference‐Makers For Processes. [Preprint]

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Abstract

It is natural to think of causes as difference-makers. What exact difference causes make, however, is an open question. In this paper, I argue that the right way of understanding difference-making is in terms of causal processes: causes make a difference to a causal process that leads to the effect. I will show that this way of understanding difference-making nicely captures the distinction between causing an outcome and helping determine how the outcome happens and, thus, explains why causation is not transitive. Moreover, the theory handles tricky cases that are problematic for competing accounts of difference-making.


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Item Type: Preprint
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Loew, Christian
Keywords: Causation; Counterfactuals; Difference-making; Processes; Transitivity
Subjects: General Issues > Causation
Depositing User: Christian Loew
Date Deposited: 13 Mar 2018 12:30
Last Modified: 13 Mar 2018 12:30
Item ID: 14457
Official URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/phpr.12...
DOI or Unique Handle: 10.1111/phpr.12424
Subjects: General Issues > Causation
Date: 22 June 2017
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/14457

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