Causation: The Basics
eBook - ePub

Causation: The Basics

  1. 214 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Causation: The Basics

About this book

Causation: The Basics explores questions about what causes are, and how we come to know them, describe them, and put them to use. The book begins with an introduction to the history of philosophical thinking about causation, followed by a series of chapters introducing important contemporary accounts of causation. It concludes with chapters on causation and agency, causal discovery, and causal explanation. Key questions explored in the book include:

  • What distinguishes correlation from causation?
  • How are the causes of singular events related to more general patterns of cause and effect?
  • How are commonsense, scientific, and legal conceptions of causation related?
  • Can certain occurrences be singled out as the main or principle causes of some effect?
  • Is there a place in the world's causal structure for human agency and free will?

While introducing the major philosophical debates about the nature of causation, Causation: The Basics emphasizes the uses and challenges of causal reasoning as it occurs in the sciences, engineering, medicine, and other areas of human life. With a glossary of key terms and suggestions for further reading, the book provides readers with a clear and concise introduction to both theoretical and practical questions about causation.

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Yes, you can access Causation: The Basics by Stuart Glennan in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Filosofia & Storia e teoria della filosofia. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Half Title
  3. Series
  4. Title
  5. Copyright
  6. Dedication
  7. Contents
  8. Preface
  9. 1 Some Basic Questions about Causation
  10. 2 Thinking About Causation: A Selective History
  11. 3 Causes, Regularities, and Laws
  12. 4 Causation, Probability, and Chance
  13. 5 Causation and Counterfactuals
  14. 6 Causal Models and Interventions
  15. 7 Causal Processes and Mechanisms
  16. 8 Causes, Purposes, and Agency
  17. 9 Finding Causes
  18. 10 Choosing Causes
  19. Glossary
  20. References
  21. Index