There is a systematic and suggestive analogy between grounding and causation. In my view, this is no coincidence: grounding and causation resemble one another because grounding is a type of causation. I defend the identification of grounding with metaphysical causation from some initial objections, and I draw on the causation literature to explore connections between grounding and counterfactua...

This paper presents a general theory of causation based on the Structural Causal Model (SCM) described in (Pearl, 2000a). The theory subsumes and unifies current approaches to causation, including graphical, potential outcome, probabilistic, decision analytical, and structural equation models, and provides both a mathematical foundation and a friendly calculus for the analysis of causes and cou...

Everybody agrees that the distinction between direct and indirect causation is important. And it seems easy to draw, i f an analysis of causation in general is available. The causal influence of one event on another is direct, if it is not mediated by other events in between; otherwise it is indirect. The trouble is with the proviso. Indeed, I contend that the order of analysis must be reversed...

The paper summarises previous theories of accident causation, human error, foresight, resilience and system migration. Five lessons from these theories are used as the foundation for a new model which describes how patient safety emerges in complex systems like healthcare: the System Evolution Erosion and Enhancement model. It is concluded that to improve patient safety, healthcare organisation...

After a history of neglect, bioethicists have recently turned their attention to the topic of infectious disease. In this paper we link bioethicists' earlier neglect of infectious disease to their under-appreciation of the extent to which the problem of infectious disease is related to social factors and thus to questions of justice. We argue that a social causation of illness model - well-know...

Telogen effluvium (TE) is one of the most common causes diffuse nonscarring hair loss. A number factors have been implicated in causation TE, however, clear evidence their support lacking. The role stress as a causative factor well result loss needs to be adequately understood. can occur people any age, gender, and racial background. both men women, although women greater tendency experience th...

In this paper, we demonstrate that people’s causal judgments are inextricably linked to counterfactuals. In our experiments, participants judge whether one billiard ball A caused another ball B to go through a gate. Our counterfactual simulation model predicts that people arrive at their causal judgments by comparing what actually happened with the result of mentally simulating what would have ...

Top-down causation has been implicit in many sociological accounts of social structure and its influence on social events, but the social sciences have struggled to provide a coherent account of top-down causation itself. This paper summarizes a critical realist view of causation and emergence, shows how it supports a plausible account of top-down causation and then applies this account to the ...