more on this theme     |     more from this thinker     |     more from this text


Single Idea 8423

[filed under theme 26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 9. General Causation / c. Counterfactual causation ]

Full Idea

My (counterfactual) analysis is meant to apply to causation in particular cases; it is not an analysis of causal generalizations. Those presumably quantify over particulars, but it is hard to match natural language to the quantifiers.

Gist of Idea

My counterfactual analysis applies to particular cases, not generalisations

Source

David Lewis (Causation [1973], p.195)

Book Ref

'Causation', ed/tr. Sosa,E. /Tooley,M. [OUP 1993], p.195


A Reaction

What authority could you have for asserting a counterfactual claim, if you only had one observation? Isn't the counterfactual claim the hallmark of a generalisation? For one case, 'if not-c, then not-e' is just a speculation.