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

TLDR

The paper discusses examples and a refined definition of causation. The study proposes a new definition of actual causes based on structural equations modeling counterfactuals. The authors employ structural equations to model counterfactuals for defining actual causes. The new definition provides a plausible, elegant account of causation, successfully handling problematic examples and resolving major difficulties of traditional accounts. The paper includes sections on introduction, causal models, definition of cause, discussion, and appendices covering technical issues.

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. Introduction 2. Causal models: a review2.1Causal models 2.2Syntax and semantics 3. The definition of cause 4. Examples 5. A more refined definition 6. Discussion AAppendix: Some Technical Issues A.1The active causal process A. 2.2A closer look at AC2(b) A.3Causality with infinitely many variables A. 4.4Causality in nonrecursive models