Fischer, Enno (2023) Broken Brakes and Dreaming Drivers: The Heuristic Value of Causal Models in the Law. [Preprint]
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Abstract
Recently, there has been an increased interest in employing model-based definitions of actual causation in legal inquiry. The formal precision of such approaches promises to be an improvement over more traditional approaches. Yet model-based approaches are viable only if suitable models of legal cases can be provided, and providing such models is sometimes difficult. I argue that causal-model-based definitions benefit legal inquiry in an indirect way. They make explicit the causal assumptions that need to be made plausible to defend a particular claim of actual causation. My argument concerns the analysis of legal cases involving a combination of double prevention and causal redundancy. I show that discussions among legal theorists about such cases sometimes suffer from ambiguous assumptions about the causal structure. My account illustrates that causal models can act as a heuristic tool for clarifying such assumptions, and that causal models provide a framework for more accurate analyses of legal cases involving complex causal structure.
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| Item Type: | Preprint | ||||||
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| Keywords: | Actual Causation, Causal Models, Legal Cases, Causal Redundancy, Double Prevention | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Causation General Issues > Evidence General Issues > Models and Idealization |
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| Depositing User: | Enno Fischer | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 09 Dec 2023 00:37 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 09 Dec 2023 00:37 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 22831 | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Causation General Issues > Evidence General Issues > Models and Idealization |
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| Date: | 2023 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/22831 |
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