actual cause definition

Of Humean Bondage. Example 15 shows that Def 4 does not imply Def 10. Interventionists argue that we generally tend to care about the concept of actual causation because it indicates factors that are particularly suitable as targets for intervention if we aim to alter or prevent a certain outcome (Hitchcock & Knobe, 2009; Hitchcock, 2017). Smart, J. J. C. (1961). Def 3: again take (A =1,D =0) as a witness. The actual value of Z2 is 0. (1981). Also, we have that Z = X, and thus the former means that also AC2(b) is satisfied for Original HP. Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin causa "judicial proceedings, interests of one side in a judicial case, plea, pretext, ground of action, motive, reason," of uncertain origin, Middle English causen, borrowed from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French causer, borrowed from Medieval Latin causre, causr "to plead, accuse, blame, serve as the cause of, occasion," going back to Latin causr "to plead an action in law, plead as an excuse," derivative of causa "judicial proceedings, plea, cause entry 1", 13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a, 14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1. Pearl opened the door to formally defining actual causation using causal models. Probable cause is an objective standard rather than a function of subjective opinion or suspicion not grounded in fact or circumstance. After duty and breach of duty are proven, the third element that must be proven is actual or proximate cause. Idk if they continue to get CAS updates after they render a decision on applicants. Note that C2 = A D2 X. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science forthcoming. Therefore we can choose t = (a1,t1). For all twelve instances of the General Definition of Causation we can restrict ourselves to sets N so that (N {Y }) R = . Note: More specifically, Halpern and Pearls arsonist cases (both the conjunctive and disjunctive version), the forest fire case (Bennett, 1993), Billys medical condition (Hall, 2004), and double prevention (Hall, 2004) are all accounted for without AC2(b). What are the consequences of the challenge of purpose for functional approaches to actual causation? He argues that "we experience greater guilt when we have caused some harm that we [] tried to cause [] than we experience when we have been equally culpable but we have not caused such a harm" (2009, 30). 2 from the viewpoint of an intervening agent. Show the world whos boss. In other words, (X = x,W = w) is weakly sufficient for Y = y, and W = w is not weakly sufficient for Y = y. actual damages | Wex | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute Suppose Suzy and Billy are assassins that both attack an innocent victim. I will also argue that other popular definitions of actual causation face similar problems. This additional restriction (henceforth called the normality criterion) excludes counterfactual scenarios that involve remote possibilities. Woodward, J. Knowing what actually causes the patients back pain will in many cases determine the therapy that is to be prescribed.Footnote 11. Actual Cause rate. This indicates that an appropriately revised concept of actual causation would not distinguish between these two kinds of factors. Note that Halpern and Hitchcock here employ a concept of normality that is deliberately wide. Given that the concept of actual causation fulfils such and such a role in the cognitive life of causal reasoners, what features should it have? 150, Bochum, Germany, You can also search for this author in Even if we suppose that the definition is descriptively adequate, there remains the question why we do and should employ such a complex causal concept.Footnote 7. Therefore there exists some t2 ( (X W A S) so that \((M,\mathbf {u})\models [\mathbf {X} \gets \mathbf {x}^{\prime },\mathbf {W} \gets \mathbf {w}^{*},\mathbf {A} \gets \mathbf {a}^{*}, \mathbf {T} \gets \mathbf {t_{2}}] (\mathbf {S} \neq \mathbf {s}^{*} \lor \mathbf {A} \neq \mathbf {a}^{*})\). Suzy is not a but-for cause of the bottles shattering because Billy would have destroyed the bottle if Suzy had not. From the latter it follows that \((X=x^{\prime },\mathbf {W}=\mathbf {w}^{*})\) is not strongly sufficient for Y = y along , from which the result follows. What are the two main tests for actual cause? We can imagine a situation in which Suzy does not throw her stone (that is, we can choose \(\vec {W}=\vec {w}'\) such that \(ST=0\)). Philosophical Review, 66, 495532. But X =1 is not a cause of Y =1 according to Updated HP. 6 that functional approaches to actual causation that are pursued with the goal to improve the concept may come to different results, depending on whether they are oriented towards facilitating intervention or towards facilitating judgements of responsibility. Causation in the Law - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Halpern, J.Y. This project takes intuitions such as those regarding Billy and Suzy as basic data that are to be captured in terms of necessary and sufficient conditions for the correct use of the concept actual cause. So we know that Def 4 and Def 10 are not equivalent to any of the other definitions. Note: Consider some \(\mathbf {S} \subseteq (\mathbf {N} - \mathbf {A})\) with Y S. AC2(b) requires that the outcome \(\varphi\) be sustained if we set \(\vec {W}'=\vec {w}'\) while the cause variable \(\vec {X}\) and any subset of \(\vec {Z}\) is held fixed at its original values (\(\vec {x}\) and \(\vec {z}^*\), respectively). Retributivists often rely on direct intuitive support when they justify punishment. Instead, one would have to intervene on both Suzy and Billy. According to this account, Suzy produces the bottles shattering and Billy does not because his stone arrives only after the bottle has been destroyed. On a retributivist theory, however, a condition like AC2(b) appears to do important work. Actual Cause There two causal terms to distinguish: actual cause and immediate cause. (Ed.) If the function of the concept of actual causation is to track this difference, then that concept should include a condition reflecting this difference. Updated HP and Original HP: taking (A =1,D =0) as a witness meets the conditions. If we intervene on Suzy, the bottle will still be destroyed by Billy. Folk intuitions of actual causation: A two-pronged debunking explanation. Since all subnetworks \(\mathbf {S}^{\prime \prime }\) of \(\mathbf {S}^{\prime }\) are also subnetworks of N, it follows from the above that (X1 = x1) satisfies AC2 by itself when taking W as witness and \(\mathbf {S}^{\prime }\) as network. Billys causal role, by contrast, is much less evident. As an outlook I suggest that a potential solution of the challenge of purpose is to pursue a pluralist account of actual causation. 1. Sander Beckers. So X =1 is part of a cause. actual cause translation in English - English Reverso dictionary, see also 'actual sin, your actual, actual bodily harm, actuals', examples, definition, conjugation More concretely, Billy is not an actual cause because on any choice of the partition \((\vec {Z},\vec {W})\) that fulfils condition AC2(a) it will be the case that condition AC2(b) is violated. Functions and cognitive bases for the concept of actual causation. So, while Hitchcock and Knobes theory may help us understand the relevance of normality considerations from a functional perspective it does not explain why we distinguish between preempting and preempted factors. There is clearly also no witness W = w to show that X =1 or D =1 are causes by themselves, so X =1 is part of a cause. In Proc. They told someone they had 0 percent chance at the t14 with a 3.0 (clearly not true) and to give up and go somewhere else. I agree with Hitchcock that claims of actual causation thus can help identify potential targets for intervention. The second equivalence can be reformulated as follows: X = x is actually directly sufficient for N = n in (M,u) iff X = x is directly sufficient for N = n in M. In turn, this reduces to: for all c ( (X N)), it holds that (M,u)[X x,C c]N = n iff for all \(\mathbf {u}^{\prime \prime } \in \mathcal{R} (\mathcal {U})\), \((M,\mathbf {u}^{\prime \prime }) \models [\mathbf {X} \gets \mathbf {x}, \mathbf {C} \gets \mathbf {c}]\mathbf {N}=\mathbf {n}\). Hitchcock, C., & Knobe, J. If X = x causes Y = y in (M,u) according to Def 3, then X is a singleton, and X is a parent of Y. Actual - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms | Vocabulary.com In H. Beebee, H. Price, & C. Hitchcock (Eds. In the normalized version of the situation there, supposedly, is oxygen but no short circuit and, hence, no fire. (2000). But what does an intervening agent learn from this fact? Fischer, E. (2021). Claims of actual causation play an important role for a variety of purposes. : an efficient, exciting, or contributing cause (as an act, practice, or event) that produces an injury which would not have occurred without it . Then X =1 is a cause of Y =1 according to: Modified HP: Y =1 counterfactually depends on (X =1,A =1), and not on either X =1 or A =1. Conceptual engineering: The master argument. Several interesting results about these definitions and their relation to the various Halpern & Pearl definitions are presented. It is an important factor in both civil and criminal cases. efficient intervening cause, intervening cause. Def 4: (X =0,A =1) and (X =0,D =1) also weakly suffice for Y =1. Causation and the problem of disagreement. Then the result follows immediately from the observation that X = x is directly sufficient for N = n and either N = n is directly sufficient for Y = y or N = Y and n = y. Re-orienting discussions of scientific explanation: A functional perspective. Moral Luck. Proximate cause An actual cause that is also legally sufficient to support liability. In Sect. However, there are also approaches to responsibility according to which the difference between preempted and preempting factors is relevant. Personal injury claims may be filed against a negligent party if certain elements of the injury claim are proven in court through a preponderance of evidence. Proximate cause, however, has to be determined by law as the primary cause of injury. What are the consequences of the challenge of purpose? The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 72(2), 587615. Beckers, S. Causal Sufficiency and Actual Causation. As with the third implication, assume that (X = x,W = w) is directly sufficient for Y = y, and there exists some \(x^{\prime }\) such that \((X=x^{\prime },\mathbf {W}=\mathbf {w}^{*})\) is not directly sufficient for Y = y. Link to this page: Hitchcock argues that knowledge of such an active route can be exploited if we want to save the bottle. Furthermore, changing X from x to \(x^{\prime }\) obviously has no effect on any of the values in R. Therefore \((M,\mathbf {u})\models [X \gets x^{\prime }, \mathbf {W} \gets \mathbf {w}^{*}] \mathbf {S}=\mathbf {s}^{*}\), and thus we get that \((M,\mathbf {u})\models [X \gets x^{\prime }, \mathbf {W} \gets \mathbf {w}^{*},\mathbf {S} \gets \mathbf {s}^{*}] Y \neq y\). Philosophy Compass, 7(9), 643653. Conceptual engineering is a more recent development, and it is closely related to Carnaps approach of explication. Enoch, D., & Marmor, A. Several questions arise here. Actual cause refers to a cause or factor without which the event could not have occurred. Reck (2012), for example, argues that Carnapian explications are not meant to be correct or incorrect. Hahahaha at least the professors will know! Tinnitus can be caused by a number of things, including broken or damaged hair cells in the part of the ear that receives sound (cochlea); changes in how blood moves through nearby blood vessels (carotid artery); problems with the joint of the jaw bone (temporomandibular joint); and problems with how the brain processes sound. First we focus on Def 4. Since the actual value of A is 1, it is of no use, which leaves us with D. But D =1 directly suffices for Y =1 by itself, and thus so does (X =0,D =1). (2011). Rethinking Actual Causation in Tort Law - Harvard Law Review Third, we should make sure that our words have as good meanings as possible. (2005). Lastly, an example to show that Def 3 does not imply Updated HP. (Obviously the same reasoning applies to X2.) I take it to be an open question whether such a reductive account is feasible. This means that if the event would not have occurred but for the defendant's actions, then the defendant is considered the actual cause of the event. What is Actual Cause? - Definition from the MyAttorneyHome Legal Glossary The rationale is that the causal process initiated by the actual cause should be sufficient to sustain the effect even if we apply the variation of \(\vec {W}\) (and any possible subset of it) that is required to unmask the counterfactual dependence.Footnote 6. Mackie, J. These epistemic considerations may serve as an explanation why we intuitively do prioritize the causal role of Suzy over the causal role of Billy. On a descriptive level it is uncontested that we do distinguish preempting and preempted factors. Causation in Law: Understanding Proximate Cause and Factual Causation - WKW Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. If Suzy hits the bottle, the bottle shatters (\(BS=1\)). But does this explain the relevance of condition AC2(b)? Cause - FindLaw Dictionary of Legal Terms Two concepts of causation. So let us assume that there is some subnetwork \(\mathbf {S}^{\prime } \subseteq \mathbf {N}\) such that \((\mathbf {X_{1}}=\mathbf {x_{1}},\mathbf {W}=\mathbf {w}^{*})\) is sufficient for Y = y along \(\mathbf {S}^{\prime }\). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10670-023-00660-z, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10670-023-00660-z. The minimality condition excludes such irrelevant details. Then we can take parents of all elements in A, to get a set B so that B = b is directly sufficient for A = a, etc.) X =1 is not a cause of Y =1 according to: Def 10: X =1 by itself does not weakly suffice for Y =1 (just look at a context in which A =0), so we need to add A or D to the witness. The Philosophical Review, 130(1), 4596. Meaning and necessity. In other words, causation provides a means of connecting conduct with a resulting effect, typically an injury. An essay in conceptual synthesis. Part I: Causes. Actual Cause What does Actual Cause mean? Hitchcock (2017) also argues that claims of actual causation are useful because they track path-specific effects. MIT Press. Palgrave Macmillan. called also Since A (X W) and the equation for each element Ai A is of the form Ai = U for some exogenous variable U, this is impossible. ), Causation and counterfactuals (pp. Causal sufficiency and actual causation. Chapter Hitchcock, C. (2007). A modification of the halpern-pearl definition of causality. Structural equations and causation. Equations: Y = (X A) D, D = A. Causation in tort law. Another potential explanation for why we identify actual causes is that we have direct evidence of Suzys causal role because we observe that Suzys stone hits the bottle, and the bottle is shattered as a result. Let S = R (W {X}). Trumping preemption. ), Free will and moral responsibility (pp. In what follows I shall suggest a functional approach to the concept of causation from the perspective of responsibility. proximate cause | Wex | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute An act from which an injury results as a natural, direct, uninterrupted consequence and without which the injury would not have occurred. Def 2: follows from the previous item and Theorem 4. People are different but I always hear this same advice over and over again. Philosophical Studies, 174, 13231361. That none of the HP definitions are equivalent is of course a well-established fact, and also follows from the examples we consider in Section ??. MIT Press. It is an act or omission that is considered in law to result in a consequence, so that liability can be imposed on the actor. Hitchcock, C. (2013). Journal of Philosophical Logic, 50, 13411374. (2015). volume50,pages 13411374 (2021)Cite this article, A Correction to this article was published on 28 August 2021. (The case of Def 8 is entirely analogous.) Alternativley, such experiences could be understood as basic. Correspondence to Suppose we were able to provide a unified concept of actual causation that is perfectly adequate from a purely descriptive point of view. Factual Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster The focus here will be on functional approaches to causal concepts, but functional approaches also have been pursued with regard to other concepts, for example, knowledge (Craig, 1990) and scientific explanation (Woody, 2015). Synthese, 192, 357799. From the former it follows that (X = x,W = w) is strongly sufficient for Y = y along . So, it seems that what matters from the interventionist perspective is straightforward causal dependence rather than the kind of relationship described by condition AC2 and other approaches to actual causation (Hitchcock, 2013). This means that (X = x,W = w) is directly sufficient for Y = y, and (W = w) is not directly sufficient for Y = y. For example, if you are driving through an intersection and an oncoming commercial truck runs a red light, the truck driver's actions are the actual cause of the collision. Woodward, J. Instead, I take the challenge of purpose to provide tentative support for pluralist theories of actual causation.Footnote 20. Negligence-Causation Flashcards This gives rise to what I call the challenge of purpose. Andreas, H., & Gnther, M. (2021). For a discussion of the distinction see Ross and Woodward (forth). Will they see my new transcript or should I send directly to the school? actual cause, but-for cause. Combining the previous statement about \((X=x^{\prime },\mathbf {S}=\mathbf {s}^{*},\mathbf {W}=\mathbf {w}^{*})\) with Proposition 2 it follows immediately that there does not exist any network N so that \((X=x^{\prime },\mathbf {S}=\mathbf {s}^{*},\mathbf {W}=\mathbf {w}^{*})\) is strongly sufficient for Y = y along N. Clearly there exists some N so that R = r is strongly sufficient for Y = y along N. (We can start by picking parents A of Y = y such that A = a is directly sufficient for Y = y. Assume \((\mathbf {X_{1}}=\mathbf {x_{1}},\mathbf {X_{2}}=\mathbf {x_{2}},\mathbf {W}=\mathbf {w}^{*})\) is sufficient for Y = y, and W = w is not sufficient for Y = y. In order to see that extant functional approaches to the concept of actual causation struggle with this issue consider Hitchcock and Knobes (2009) account. Philosophical Exchange, 31, 519. As luck would have it, however, Suzy shoots a split second earlier than Billy. A producing cause lacks the element of foreseeability associated with a proximate cause, being more exclusively concerned with causation in fact. Define C1 = (X N1) and D1 = N N1. Under the Louisiana Civil Code, if a contract's cause is illicit or immoral, the contract is absolutely null. Consider the example given in the introduction. Given AC1, we can safely assume that n = n. Yet all of them ignore Pearls first strategy, and the second strategy taken by itself is unable to deliver a consensus. 11631). Second we prove the fourth implication. Journal of Philosophy, 97(4), 165181. Say \(\mathbf {u}^{\prime }\) is a context such that \((M,\mathbf {u}^{\prime }) \models [\mathbf {W} \gets \mathbf {w}^{*}] Y \neq y\), and say \(x^{\prime }\) is the unique value such that \((M,\mathbf {u}^{\prime }) \models [\mathbf {W} \gets \mathbf {w}^{*}] X = x^{\prime }\). Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy, LMU Munich, Mnich, Germany, You can also search for this author in Hear a word and type it out. Moral influence, moral responsibility. Vargas, M. (2008). It is necessary to prove actual cause to establish liability in civil cases and a guilty verdict in criminal cases. Given that N R = , we still have that \(\mathbf {R} \subseteq (\mathbf {C} \cup \mathbf {X})\), and therefore we can apply the same reasoning as before. 17th Conference on Uncertainty in Artificial Intelligence (UAI 2001) (pp. Proceedings of AAAI Spring Symposium on Logical Formalizations of Commonsense Reasoning, pages 839. Cappelen, H. (2018). Context: A =1 and X =1. Lewis, D. (1973). Fifth, we show that none of the remaining implications hold. Carnap (1947) describes explicating a concept as the "task of making more exact a vague or not quite exact concept used in everyday life or in an earlier stage of scientific or logical development, or rather of replacing it by a newly constructed, more exact concept" (7f). Looking at cases of late preemption I will argue that the definitions distinction between preempted and preempting factors is difficult to motivate from this viewpoint. Instead, "improvement is relative to contextually specific purposes" (Cappelen, 2018, 137). It does not necessarily represent the amount you would receive directly in your claim check. In order to prevent the bottles shattering, we have to combine an intervention on Suzy with an intervention that keeps fixed the fact that Billy does not hit the bottle. However, so is A =1, and therefore X =1 does not cause Y =1 according to Def 10. Note: The "but-for" test asks if the . But the concept of intervention presupposes some preliminary understanding of causation. Overall, actual cause is an important factor in determining legal responsibility and accountability for events that cause harm or damage. My final transcript is due to the school prior to starting in the fall. Given the first two implications of Theorem 4, it suffices to show that none of Def 4, Def 2, Def 8, or Def 10, imply Original HP, and that Def 3 does not imply Updated HP. The challenge of purpose may also be particularly salient in revisionary projects that have a political dimension, such as Haslangers (2000) revisionary account of the concepts of gender and race. The test asks, "but for the existence of X, would Y have occurred?" In tort law, but-for causation is a prerequisite to liability in combination with proximate cause. His approach rests on two strategies: first, capturing the widespread intuition that X = x causes Y = y iff X = x is a Necessary Element of a Sufficient Set for Y = y, and second, showing that his definition gives intuitive answers on a wide set of problem cases.This inspired dozens of variations of his definition . This is relevant from the viewpoint of intervention. Models, reasoning, and inference. Next, we shall turn to condition AC2. Proponents of retributive justice hold (1) that those who commit a wrongful act morally deserve to be punished proportionately, (2) that it is intrinsically morally good if wrongdoers receive the punishment they deserve, and (3) that it is not permissible intentionally to punish the innocent (Walen, 2021). (2014). but-for test | Wex | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute But the absence of oxygen is (at least in most circumstances) exceptional, which means that this amended situation is less normal than the actual world. Hunting causes and using them. Consider a slight alteration of the original case in which Suzy preempted Billy in the observed scenario, but where, in general, Billy is the more reliable stone thrower. Factual cause is often established using the but-for-test. That is, even though Billy attempted to kill the innocent victim and the victim did in fact die, feeling relief is still an appropriate reaction for Billy. Therefore descriptive accounts typically include a condition reflecting this distinction. The next example shows that the former are not equivalent to the latter. term: Actual Cause actual cause see cause. The fact that some variable X is causally related to another variable Y indicates that we may control Y by intervening on X. Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. But suppose we have intervened on Suzy such that she does not throw her stone or does not hit the bottle. Taking up Woodwards tool metaphor, I will investigate whether and under which circumstances the concept of actual causation can be engineered such that its performance is improved. 4 I will evaluate the definition presented in Sect. Hoarding disorder is an ongoing difficulty throwing away or parting with possessions because you believe that you need to save them.
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