Causal Asymmetries

Half-Title......Page 1
Series Title......Page 3
Title Page......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
List of Figures......Page 12
Acknowledgments......Page 13
Introduction: Causation and its Asymmetries......Page 17
1.2 The Question......Page 20
1.3 How to Begin......Page 21
1.4 The Initial Picture......Page 22
1.5 Wishes......Page 23
1.6 Problems with the Picture......Page 28
1* Transfer Theories......Page 29
2 Is Causation a Relation Among Events?......Page 34
2.1 Events......Page 35
2.2 Facts......Page 38
2.3 Is Causation a Relation?......Page 39
2.4 Causation and Simple Tropes......Page 41
2.5 Artificial Events and Omissions......Page 44
2.6.1 Notation and Terminology......Page 46
2.6.2 Probability......Page 47
2.6.3 Causal Graphs......Page 49
2.7 What Do Causal Relata Suggest About Causation?......Page 50
3.1 Hume's Theory......Page 52
3.2 Constant Conjunction......Page 55
3.3 A Neo-Humean Theory of Causation......Page 60
3.4 Spurious Causation......Page 63
3.5 Redundant Causation......Page 65
3.6 The Problems of Causation......Page 68
4.1 Causal Connection and Probabilistic Dependency......Page 71
4.2 The Connection Principle......Page 75
4.3 A Necessary Condition for Causal Priority......Page 78
4.4 Independence......Page 79
4.5 Why Believe I?......Page 82
4.6 A Theory of Causal Priority......Page 86
4.7 Should One Accept the Independence Theory?......Page 87
4.1 * The Operationalizing Assumption and the Connection Principle......Page 91
4.2* A Necessary Condition......Page 96
4.3* Independence Conditions......Page 97
4.4* Derivation of CP and Other Results......Page 100
5 Agency Theory......Page 102
5.1 Formulating an Agency Theory of Causation......Page 103
5.2 Menzies and Price's Reformulation and Defense......Page 105
5.3 Manipulability and Independence......Page 108
5.4 Abstract Intervention Theory......Page 111
5.5 Intervention, Independence, and Causation......Page 112
5.6 What Role for Agency?......Page 113
5.1* Token and Type Causation......Page 115
5.2* Type Causation and Causal Generalizations......Page 117
5.3* Definitions, Conditions, and Theorems......Page 122
6.1 Lewis's Theory......Page 127
6.2 Asymmetry Without Miracles......Page 130
6.3 Why Causes Are Not Counterfactually Dependent on Their Effects......Page 131
6.4 Counterfactuals and Predictions......Page 134
6.5 Critique of Lewis's Account of Similarity Among Possible Worlds......Page 139
6.6 Refutation of L and Defense of a Restricted Version......Page 142
6.7 What Does the Counterfactual Theory of Causation Teach Us?......Page 144
6.2* Swain's Theory of Causal Asymmetry......Page 147
6.3* An Alternative Account of Similarity Among Possible Worlds......Page 149
6.4* Independence and Counterfactual Dependence......Page 150
6.5* The Asymmetry of Overdetermination......Page 152
6.6* Proof of a Restricted Version of L......Page 153
7.1 Agency, Counterfactuals, and Independence......Page 155
7.2 Agency and Counterfactuals......Page 157
7.3 Price Contra Lewis......Page 158
7.4 Irreversibility and Independence......Page 160
7.5 Reversibility, Intervention, and Independence......Page 161
7.6 Conclusions: Independence, Agency, and Counterfactuals......Page 164
7.1* Independence and a Token Version of Agency Theory......Page 167
7.2* AT', CP, and L......Page 170
8.1 The Deductive-Nomological Model and its Sufficiency......Page 172
8.2 Explanatory Asymmetries......Page 174
8.3 The Aims of Scientific Explanations......Page 177
8.4 Causation and Why We Ask, "Why?"......Page 179
8.5 Causation and Independent Alterability......Page 182
8.6 Independent Alterability and Explanation......Page 186
8.7 Explanation, Intervention, Time, and Independence......Page 190
8.1* Nomic Sufficient Conditions and Explanations......Page 192
8.2* Some Reformulations......Page 195
8.3* Some Proofs......Page 198
9 Probabilistic Causation......Page 201
9.1 Causes as Increasing the Probability of Their Effects......Page 202
9.2 Type and Token Causation Revisited......Page 207
9.3 Other Difficulties and Refinements......Page 210
9.4 What Should One Hold Fixed?......Page 213
9.5 Are Undetermined Events Caused?......Page 215
9.6 Probabilistic Causation or Deterministic Causation of Probabilities?......Page 217
9.6.1 Three Objections......Page 218
9.6.2 Defense of Taking Probabilistic Causation to Be Deterministic Causation of Probabilities......Page 219
9.6.3 Generalizations Across Inhomogeneous Contexts......Page 220
9.7 Conclusion: Causation and Determination......Page 221
10.1 The Fork Asymmetry......Page 223
10.2 An Asymmetry of Screening-Off?......Page 224
10.3 Causal Graphs and Probability Distributions......Page 227
10.4 Problems with this Account......Page 229
10.2* Causal Graphs and Probability Distributions - Some Formal Results......Page 233
10.3* Papineau on Failures of Faithfulness......Page 235
11 Intervention, Robustness, and Probabilistic Dependence......Page 238
11.1 The Asymmetry of Robustness......Page 239
11.2 The Asymmetry of Parameter Independence......Page 240
11.3 The Asymmetry of Modal Invariance......Page 244
11.4 Modal Invariance and Independence......Page 246
11.5 Conclusion: Causation and Modularity......Page 247
11* Interventions and Conditional Probabilities......Page 249
12.1 Do Probabilistic Dependencies Imply Causal Connections?......Page 255
12.2 Do Causal Connections Imply Probabilistic Dependencies?......Page 258
12.3 The Quasi-Reduction of Causality to Probabilistic Dependence......Page 260
12.4 Why One Needs to Know More than Causal Connections and How to Know It......Page 261
12.5 Operationalizing CP......Page 262
12.6 Lessons from Quantum Mechanics......Page 263
12.7 Revising CP......Page 268
12.8 Theories of Causation and Theories of Causal Inference......Page 270
12.1* Causation and Causal Connection: A Graphical Exposition......Page 271
12.2* Conditional Probabilities and Probabilistic Dependencies in Possible Worlds......Page 272
12.3* Independence Theory and Statistical Methods of Causal Inference......Page 274
12.4* The Revised Independence Theory......Page 275
13.1 Overdetermination......Page 279
13.2 Preemption......Page 281
13.3 Event Fusions......Page 284
13.4 Conclusion: What Is Causation?......Page 287
Appendix A: Alphabetical List of Propositions......Page 293
Appendix B: List of Theorems......Page 298
References......Page 301
C......Page 311
F......Page 312
K......Page 313
P......Page 314
T......Page 315
Y......Page 316