What Does it Take to Make a Difference? A Reply to Andreas and Günther

Authors
Publication date 04-2025
Journal The Journal of Philosophy
Volume | Issue number 122 | 4
Pages (from-to) 177-189
Organisations
  • Interfacultary Research - Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC)
Abstract
Andreas and Günther have recently proposed a difference-making definition of actual causation. In this paper I show that there exist conclusive counterexamples to their definition, by which I mean examples that are unacceptable to everyone, including Andreas and Günther. Concretely, I show that their definition allows c to cause e even when c is not a causal ancestor of e. I then proceed to identify their non-standard definition of causal models as the source of the problem, and argue that there is no viable strategy open to them to fixing it. I conclude that their definition of causation is damaged beyond repair.
Document type Comment/Letter to the editor
Note Comment to: H. Andreas, M. Günther (2021) Difference-Making Causation, in: Journal of Philosophy, 118, 12: 680-701.
Language English
Published at https://doi.org/10.5840/jphil202512249
Published at https://philpapers.org/rec/BECWDI-3
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