2005•The British Journal for the Philosophy of ScienceRequires access

Causes and Explanations: A Structural-Model Approach. Part I: Causes

Joseph Y. Halpern, Judea Pearl

Abstract

We propose a new definition of actual causes, using structural equations to model counterfactuals. We show that the definition yields a plausible and elegant account of causation that handles well examples which have caused problems for other definitions and resolves major difficulties in the traditional account. 1. Introduction2. Causal models: a review2.1Causal models2.2Syntax and semantics3. The definition of cause4. Examples5. A more refined definition6. DiscussionAAppendix: Some Technical IssuesA.1The active causal processA.2A closer look at AC2(b)A.3Causality with infinitely many variablesA.4Causality in nonrecursive models

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Key concepts: Counterfactual conditional, Causation, Causal model, Computer science, Epistemology, Counterfactual thinking, Mathematical economics, Mathematics