Causal exclusion and the limits of proportionality

被引:24
|
作者
McDonnell, Neil [1 ]
机构
[1] Univ Hamburg, Philosoph Seminar, Von Melle Pk 6,10 Stock, D-20146 Hamburg, Germany
关键词
Causation; Exclusion; Proportionality; List; Menzies; Zhong; Difference making; Woodward; Intervention; Explanation; EQUATIONS;
D O I
10.1007/s11098-016-0767-3
中图分类号
B [哲学、宗教];
学科分类号
01 ; 0101 ;
摘要
Causal exclusion arguments are taken to threaten the autonomy of the special sciences, and the causal efficacy of mental properties. A recent line of response to these arguments has appealed to "independently plausible" and "well grounded" theories of causation to rebut key premises. In this paper I consider two papers which proceed in this vein and show that they share a common feature: they both require causes to be proportional (in Yablo's sense) to their effects. I argue that this feature is a bug, and one that generalises: any attempt to rescue the autonomy of the special sciences, or the efficacy of the mental, from exclusion worries had better not look to proportionality for help.
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页码:1459 / 1474
页数:16
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