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Michael Strevens, Grünbaum Memorial Lecture
November 22, 2019 @ 10:30 am - 11:30 am EST
Indirect Causation
Michael Strevens, New York University
ABSTRACT: If scientists are to think intelligently and fruitfully about causation, then they need a vocabulary that directly represents causal relations. I will argue that they also need to represent what I call “indirect causal generalizations”, which mix causal relations with what I call relations of “entanglement”. Entanglement is a real but non-causal connection, knowledge of which helps us to investigate the causal structure of the world. Most of the causal generalizations of the high-level sciences (e.g., obesity causes diabetes) are indirect: they represent chains of entanglement and causality. There are interesting implications for the philosophy of scientific explanation.
Details
- Date:
- November 22, 2019
- Time:
-
10:30 am - 11:30 am EST
- Event Categories:
- 60th Annual Lecture Series, 2019-20, Annual Lecture Series
Venue
- 1008 Cathedral of Learning
-
4200 Fifth Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15260 United States + Google Map