Phänomenologie der digitalen Welt

Sommerschule der Deutschen Gesellschaft für phänomenologische Forschung

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237563

The determinables of explanatory mechanisms

Johannes Persson

pp. 77-87

Abstrakt

Sometimes instances of perceived causation turn out to lack causal relata. The reasons may vary. Causation may display itself as prevention, or as omission, and in some cases causation occurs within such complex environments that few of the things we associate with causes and effects are true of them, etc. But even then, there may be causal explanations to be had. This suggests that the explanatory power of causal reports have other sources than the relation between cause and effect. In this paper it is argued that the causal mechanisms we allude to in explanations have relevant determinables other than the traditionally acknowledged ones. The traditional but in this aspect mistaken view of causation is to be blamed. Discernability, complexity of manifestation, originality, and even stability have often been overlooked.

Publication details

Published in:

(1999) Synthese 120 (1).

Seiten: 77-87

DOI: 10.1023/A:1005210621021

Referenz:

Persson Johannes (1999) „The determinables of explanatory mechanisms“. Synthese 120 (1), 77–87.