Metaphysics Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Causality === {{main|Causality}} Causality is the relation between cause and effect whereby one entity produces or affects another entity.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Carroll|Markosian|2010|pp=20β22}} | {{harvnb|Tallant|2017|pp=218β219}} }}</ref> For instance, if a person bumps a glass and spills its contents then the bump is the cause and the spill is the effect.<ref>{{harvnb|Carroll|Markosian|2010|p=20}}</ref> Besides the single-case causation between particulars in this example, there is also general-case causation expressed in general statements such as "smoking causes cancer".<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Carroll|Markosian|2010|pp=21β22}} | {{harvnb|Williamson|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=yWWEIvNgUQ4C&pg=PA186 186]}} }}</ref> The term [[agent causation]] is used if people and their actions cause something.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Ney|2014|pp=219, 252β253}} | {{harvnb|Tallant|2017|pp=233β234}} }}</ref> Causation is usually interpreted deterministically, meaning that a cause always brings about its effect. This view is rejected by [[Probabilistic causation|probabilistic theories]], which claim that the cause merely increases the probability that the effect occurs. This view can be used to explain that smoking causes cancer even though this is not true in every single case.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Ney|2014|pp=228β231}} | {{harvnb|Williamson|2012|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=yWWEIvNgUQ4C&pg=PA185 185β186]}} }}</ref> The [[Humeanism#Causality and necessity|regularity theory of causation]], inspired by [[David Hume]]'s philosophy, states that causation is nothing but a [[constant conjunction]] in which the mind apprehends that one phenomenon, like putting one's hand in a fire, is always followed by another phenomenon, like a feeling of pain.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Lorkowski|loc=Lead Section, Β§ 2. Necessary Connections and Humeβs Two Definitions, Β§ 4. Causal Reductionism}} | {{harvnb|Carroll|Markosian|2010|pp=24β25}} | {{harvnb|Tallant|2017|pp=220β221}} }}</ref> According to nomic regularity theories, the regularities take the forms of [[Scientific law|laws of nature]] studied by science.<ref>{{harvnb|Ney|2014|pp=223β224}}</ref> [[Counterfactual conditional|Counterfactual]] theories focus not on regularities but on how effects depend on their causes. They state that effects owe their existence to the cause and would not be present without them.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Carroll|Markosian|2010|p=26}} | {{harvnb|Tallant|2017|pp=221β222}} | {{harvnb|Ney|2014|pp=224β225}} }}</ref> According to primitivism, causation is a basic concept that cannot be analyzed in terms of non-causal concepts, such as regularities or dependence relations. One form of primitivism identifies causal powers inherent in entities as the underlying mechanism.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Ney|2014|pp=231β232}} | {{harvnb|Mumford|2009|pp=94β95}} | {{harvnb|Mumford|Anjum|2013}} | {{harvnb|Koons|Pickavance|2015|pp=63β64}} }}</ref> Eliminativists reject the above theories by holding that there is no causation.<ref>{{harvnb|Tallant|2017|pp=231β232}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page