- Title Pages
- Acknowledgements
- Dedication
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part I Introductory Essays
- 1 A New Look at Causality
- 2 Determinism and Indeterminism in Modern Science
- 3 Comets, Pollen, and Dreams Some Reflections on Scientific Explanation
- 4 Scientific Explanation
- 5 The Importance of Scientific Understanding
- Part II Scientific Explanation
- 6 A Third Dogma of Empiricism
- 7 Causal and Theoretical Explanation
- 8 Why Ask, “Why?”?
- 9 Deductivism Visited and Revisited
- 10 Explanatory Asymmetry
- 11 Van Fraassen on Explanation
- Part III Causality
- 12 An “At‐At” Theory of Causal Influence
- 13 Causal Propensities
- 14 Probabilistic Causality
- 15 Intuitions—Good and Not‐So‐Good
- 16 Causality Without Counterfactuals
- 17 Indeterminacy, Indeterminism, and Quantum Mechanics
- Part IV Concise Overviews
- 18 Causality
- 19 Scientific Explanation
- 20 Scientific Explanation
- Part V Applications to Other Disciplines
- 21 Alternative Models of Scientific Explanation
- 22 Causality in Archaeological Explanation
- 23 Explanation in Archaeology
- 24 The Formulation of Why‐Questions
- 25 Quasars, Causality, and Geometry
- 26 Dreams of a Famous Physicist
- References
- Index
Causality Without Counterfactuals
Causality Without Counterfactuals
- Chapter:
- (p.248) 16 Causality Without Counterfactuals
- Source:
- Causality and Explanation
- Author(s):
Wesley C. Salmon
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
The author replaces his earlier explication of causal processes in terms of capacity for mark transmission with an analysis of the capacity for transmission of conserved quantities. This new theory was formulated in response to criticisms of Phil Dowe and Philip Kitcher. It relies heavily on modified versions of the seminal ideas of Phil Dowe, and overcomes a number of difficulties faced by the author's previous view. It eliminates a philosophically undesirable dependence on counterfactual conditions; it provides analyses of Y and λ types of causal interactions; and it suggests an avenue for avoiding problems about laws of nature.
Keywords: causal interactions, conserved quantities, counterfactuals, Dowe, Kitcher, laws of nature, transmission
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- Title Pages
- Acknowledgements
- Dedication
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part I Introductory Essays
- 1 A New Look at Causality
- 2 Determinism and Indeterminism in Modern Science
- 3 Comets, Pollen, and Dreams Some Reflections on Scientific Explanation
- 4 Scientific Explanation
- 5 The Importance of Scientific Understanding
- Part II Scientific Explanation
- 6 A Third Dogma of Empiricism
- 7 Causal and Theoretical Explanation
- 8 Why Ask, “Why?”?
- 9 Deductivism Visited and Revisited
- 10 Explanatory Asymmetry
- 11 Van Fraassen on Explanation
- Part III Causality
- 12 An “At‐At” Theory of Causal Influence
- 13 Causal Propensities
- 14 Probabilistic Causality
- 15 Intuitions—Good and Not‐So‐Good
- 16 Causality Without Counterfactuals
- 17 Indeterminacy, Indeterminism, and Quantum Mechanics
- Part IV Concise Overviews
- 18 Causality
- 19 Scientific Explanation
- 20 Scientific Explanation
- Part V Applications to Other Disciplines
- 21 Alternative Models of Scientific Explanation
- 22 Causality in Archaeological Explanation
- 23 Explanation in Archaeology
- 24 The Formulation of Why‐Questions
- 25 Quasars, Causality, and Geometry
- 26 Dreams of a Famous Physicist
- References
- Index
