Metaphysics of Causation by Max Kistler

Metaphysics of Causation by Max Kistler

This Element presents the main attempts to account for causation as a metaphysical concept, in terms of 1) regularities and laws of nature, 2) conditional probabilities and Bayes nets, 3) necessitation between universals and causal powers, 4) counterfactual dependence, 5) interventions and causal models, and 6) processes and mechanisms. None of these accounts can provide a complete reductive analysis. However, some provide the means to distinguish several useful concepts of causation, such as total cause, contributing cause, direct and indirect cause, and actual cause. Moreover, some of these accounts can be construed so as to complement each other. The last part presents some contemporary debates: on the relation between grounding and causation, eliminativism with respect to causation in physics, the challenge against 'downward' causation from the Closure and Exclusion principles, robust and proportional causation, and degrees of causation. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781009500340
ISBN 10	1009500341
Title	Metaphysics of Causation
Author	Max Kistler
Series	Elements In Metaphysics
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Year published	2025-01-16
Number of pages	82
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.