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If I drop a ball, the act of release is the cause. What are the conditions in this situation? Few examples that come to mind are: gravity, mass, density of air.. What's the difference between cause and condition -- it seems vague to me.

Higgs
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  • See The Metaphysics of Causation for discussion. – Mauro ALLEGRANZA Sep 04 '19 at 09:08
  • It is vague because the distinction is pragmatic. The "conditions" are those taken as fixed, "the cause" is that which acts against the fixed background of conditions. Typically, "the cause" is taken to be an action by some agent, in this case the ball dropper. If instead we consider the ball being dropped on the surface of the Earth vs on a space station, and it does not fall in the latter case, we would say that "the cause" of that is the absence of gravity there. – Conifold Sep 04 '19 at 09:59
  • Why would there be no cause for the ball being still on release in the space station without the broader context of what happens on earth? – Higgs Sep 06 '19 at 09:01

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