Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 83 (1):129-147 (2011)
Authors |
|
Abstract |
A quite popular approach to solving the Causal Exclusion Problem is to adopt a counterfactual theory of causation. In this paper, I distinguish three versions of the Causal Exclusion Argument. I argue that the counterfactualist approach can block the first two exclusion arguments, because the Causal Inheritance Principle and the Upward Causation Principle upon which the two arguments are based respectively are problematic from the perspective of the counterfactual account of causation. However, I attempt to show that the counterfactualist approach is unable to refute a sophisticated version (i.e. the third version) of the exclusion argument in that the Downward Causation Principle, a premise of the third exclusion argument, is actually implied by the counterfactual theory of causation. Therefore, even if other theories of causation might help the non-reductive physicalist to solve the exclusion problem, the counterfactual theory of causation cannot.
|
Keywords | Analytic Philosophy Contemporary Philosophy Philosophy of Mind |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
ISBN(s) | 0031-8205 |
DOI | 10.1111/j.1933-1592.2010.00415.x |
Options |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Download options
References found in this work BETA
Mind in a Physical World: An Essay on the Mind–Body Problem and Mental Causation.Jaegwon Kim - 1998 - MIT Press.
View all 22 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
Causal Exclusion and the Limits of Proportionality.Neil McDonnell - 2017 - Philosophical Studies 174 (6):1459-1474.
View all 17 citations / Add more citations
Similar books and articles
Counterfactuals, Autonomy and Downward Causation: Reply to Zhong.Dwayne Moore - 2013 - Philosophia 41 (3):831-839.
Excluding Exclusion: The Natural(Istic) Dualist Approach. Istv - 2008 - Philosophical Explorations 11 (1):67 – 78.
Excluding Exclusion: The Natural(Istic) Dualist Approach.István Aranyosi - 2008 - Philosophical Explorations 11 (1):67-78.
Interventionist Causal Exclusion and Non‐Reductive Physicalism.Michael Baumgartner - 2009 - International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 23 (2):161-178.
Do Causal Powers Drain Away.Ned Block - 2003 - Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 67 (1):133-150.
Exclusion Again.Karen Bennett - 2008 - In Jakob Hohwy & Jesper Kallestrup (eds.), Being Reduced: New Essays on Reduction, Explanation, and Causation. Oxford University Press. pp. 280--307.
Exclusion, Overdetermination, and the Nature of Causation.Thomas D. Bontly - 2005 - Journal of Philosophical Research 30:261-282.
Analytics
Added to PP index
2010-12-16
Total views
297 ( #27,326 of 2,410,716 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
12 ( #56,172 of 2,410,716 )
2010-12-16
Total views
297 ( #27,326 of 2,410,716 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
12 ( #56,172 of 2,410,716 )
How can I increase my downloads?
Downloads