Philosophy Stack Exchange
Philosophy Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [causation]

196 questions
9
votes
8 answers

Is there any exception to the law of "Cause and Effect"?

I've heard that 'God' is the only exception to the law of Cause and Effect which means that He is not dependent in His existence on anything. Can it be philosophically true? If we accepted this exception how could we make sure that the law would not…
Amin
  • 199
  • 1
  • 5
4
votes
4 answers

Is cause and effect part of an individual's theory of the mind?

One of the arguments marshaled against traditional cultures' invocation of spirits is that they're simply projecting their own fears onto the world. That they're anthropomorphizing the world. It is notable that individuals have a telos. It would be…
Mozibur Ullah
  • 47,073
  • 14
  • 93
  • 243
4
votes
4 answers

Does the lack of absurdities in our universe call into question the validity of multiverse theories?

Does the lack of absurdities in our universe call into question the validity of multi verse theories? If the theories about multi verse are to be true and we have explained the immensely improbable events like the low entropy state and the fine…
Neil Meyer
  • 2,303
  • 19
  • 30
2
votes
2 answers

Kant on causation

I want to start off by saying that I'm not a philosophy major and haven't read any texts. All my understanding is from Wikipedia, Stanford website and Reddit. Please don't hold that against me. I have a question on causation. I'll illustrate my…
Razor
  • 234
  • 1
  • 9
2
votes
0 answers

Why does cause exist?

We intuitively believe that everything must have a cause. If that is true, does it mean that causation itelf must have a cause? To be clear, I do NOT mean "does the cause of a cause have a cause?" What I mean is, what led to causation existing in…
Tom
  • 21
  • 2
2
votes
1 answer

How does additive interference cause causation to fail?

Source: p 48 Bottom - 49 Top. Causation: A Very Short Introduction (1 ed 2013) by Stephen Mumford, Rani Lill Anjum. The Production Process The argument from additive interference has a broad significance. [1.] Even in those cases where a cause…
user8572
2
votes
3 answers

Is believing in uncaused events akin to believing in magic?

Is believing in uncaused events akin to believing in magic? If you imagine a stage in a field. What would it mean for a 1971 Ford Mustang to appear on this stage? Could some sort of casual agent build a car and get it on this stage? Could we…
Neil Meyer
  • 2,303
  • 19
  • 30
1
vote
2 answers

What's the difference between a causal relation and a causal and nomic relation?

If a nomic and causal relation is a relation in which something cause something else and this effect is dependent on the properties of the causal object, what is specific in a simple causal relation?
LORENZO RIVA
  • 11
  • 1
1
vote
0 answers

What's the difference between cause and condition?

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
  • 11
  • 2
1
vote
1 answer

Are physical forces a non-entity cause?

I have been browsing some posts in this StackExchange where I encountered a rather odd proposition that Gravity and other forces are non-entity causes. I fail to see how that is the case. I would argue that gravity and other forces are the…
mathnoob123
  • 267
  • 1
  • 9
1
vote
1 answer

The subtle difference between interaction and causal effect (law of cause and effect)

I was talking with a friend about autonomous cars, he said to me that for these cars is required full interaction with other vehicles. I thought that with "interaction" he was referring to "comunication" between vehicles, i.e. sharing informations,…
sound wave
  • 113
  • 1
  • 1
  • 3
0
votes
3 answers

If y is a direct result of x, and x is occurring, is y unavoidable?

Suppose knocking over a glass has the direct result of making fall. If you knock over a glass, will it fall, no matter what?
hefedfeds
  • 1
0
votes
1 answer

Suzy and Billy throwing rocks at a bottle or hitting a bell - are these examples of late preemption?

Regarding causation, late preemption occurs, when a process (cause) leads to an effect, but a backup-process is also set in motion and would have led to the same effect, if the other process wouldn't have happened. A popular example for suche a late…
Rainer_Zoufal
  • 137
  • 4
0
votes
0 answers

Examples of identical sets which are not causal?

Google is failing me in my search for examples of identical sets which do no have causal relationships between them. What I mean is that all and only objects which belong to set A belong to set B, but an object being in set B is not caused by its…
Lily
  • 147
  • 7
0
votes
2 answers

Question on causation

I have a question on causation Presuming transitive causation such as : A causes B causes C, Where we say A causes C Is it correct to say: A causes C in virtue of causing the effect that is B that then causes C Or A causes the cause of C ( which…
Jane
  • 1
1
2