Should Causal Models always be Markovian? The Case of Multi-Causal Forks in Medicine
| Abstract | The development of causal modelling since the 1950s has been accompanied by a number of controversies, the most striking of which concerns the Markov condition. Reichenbach's conjunctive forks did satisfy the Markov condition, while Salmon's interactive forks did not. Subsequently some experts in the field have argued that adequate causal models should always satisfy the Markov condition, while others have claimed that non-Markovian causal models are needed in some cases. This paper argues for the second position by considering the multi-causal forks, which are widespread in contemporary medicine. | |||||||||
| Keywords | Causal Models Markov Condition Conjunctive Forks Interactive Forks Multi-Causal Forks Causal Factors in Heart Disease Bayesian Networks | |||||||||
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