A physical critique of physical causation

Synthese 167 (1):67 - 80 (2009)
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Abstract

The conserved quantities theory of causation (CQTC) attempts to use physics as the basis for an account of causation. However, a closer examination of the physics involved in CQTC reveals several critical failures. Some of the conserved quantities in physics cannot be used to distinguish causal interactions. Other conserved quantities cannot always be the properties of fields or particles. Finally, CQCT does not account for causal interactions that are static.

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10.1007/s11229-007-9289-z

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Tracy Lupher
James Madison University

Citations of this work

Why is the transference theory of causation insuffcient? The challenge of the Aharonov-Bohm effect.Vincent Ardourel & Alexandre Guay - 2018 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 63:12-23.
Causal Efficacy: A Comparison of Rival Views.R. D. Ingthorsson - forthcoming - In Yafeng Shah (ed.), Alternative Approaches to Causation: Beyond Difference Making and Mechanism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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References found in this work

Physical Causation.Phil Dowe - 2000 - New York: Cambridge University Press.
Physical Causation.Phil Dowe - 2003 - Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 67 (1):244-248.
Causation by disconnection.Jonathan Schaffer - 2000 - Philosophy of Science 67 (2):285-300.
Causality without counterfactuals.Wesley C. Salmon - 1994 - Philosophy of Science 61 (2):297-312.

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