AGAINST LEWIS's NEW THEORY OF CAUSATION: A STORY WITH THREE MORALS

Author: Strevens M.

Source: Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, Volume 84, Number 4, December 2003 , pp. 398-412(15)

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Abstract:

A recent paper by David Lewis, “Causation as Influence”, provides a new theory of causation. This paper presents an argument against the theory, using a series of counterexamples that are, I think, of independent interest to philosophers of causation. I argue that (a) the relation asserted by a claim of the form “C was a cause of E” is distinct from the relation of causal influence, (b) the former relation depends very much, contra Lewis, on the individuation conditions for the event E, and (c) Lewis's account is unsatisfactory as an analysis of either kind of relation. The counterexamples presented in this paper provide, I suggest, some insight into the reasons for the failure of counterfactual accounts of causal relations.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1468-0114.2003.00182.x

Affiliations: 1: Department of Philosophy Stanford University

Publication date: 2003-12-01