Efficient Causation in
Efficient Causation in
Spinoza and Leibniz
The seventeenth century was nearly unanimous in regarding causation as a necessary connection. If the cause exists or occurs, then, necessarily, the effect exists or occurs. The source of this unanimity has puzzled scholars. That causation is a necessary connection was not commonly held by medieval philosophers nor is it a commonly held opinion today. What accounts for this surprising seventeenth century consensus? In this chapter, I examine both Spinoza and Leibniz on efficient causation and argue that both regard efficient causation as a form of necessitation. But I conclude that their explicit reasons for doing so are not shared. Thus, their explicit reasoning sheds little light on the puzzle.
Keywords: causation, efficient causation, Leibniz, necessary connection, necessity, Spinoza
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