Ross, Lauren N. (2020) Causes with material continuity. [Preprint]

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Abstract

Recent philosophical work on causation has focused on distinctions across types of causal relationships. Of the various ways that causal relationships can differ, differences that have been discussed in this literature include stability, specificity, and proportionality (Woodward 2010; Lombrozo et al. 2018). This paper argues for another distinction among causation that has yet to receive attention in this work. This distinction has to do with whether causal relationships have “material continuity” or not, which refers to the reliable movement of material from cause to effect. I provide an analysis of material continuity and argue that causes with this feature (1) are associated with a unique explanatory perspective, (2) are studied with distinct causal investigative methods, and (3) provide different types of causal control over the world.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Ross, Lauren N. rossl@uci.edu
Keywords:	causation; causal explanation; material cause; distinctions among causation
Subjects:	General Issues > Causation General Issues > Explanation
Depositing User:	Lauren N. Ross
Date Deposited:	12 Feb 2022 22:45
Last Modified:	12 Feb 2022 22:45
Item ID:	20216
Subjects:	General Issues > Causation General Issues > Explanation
Date:	10 December 2020
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/20216

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• Causes with material continuity. (deposited 11 Dec 2020 14:42)
  • Causes with material continuity. (deposited 12 Feb 2022 22:45) [Currently Displayed]

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