PHI 1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: John Stuart Mill, Foodborne Illness, Blood Transfusion

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Philosophy
• Course: PHI 1101
• Professor: Jon Charles Miller

Document Summary

When observing two events and seeing when they happen, this is empirical (temporal rlsn) When we observe how one event causes another connection is much stronger than temporal rlsn. Temporal rlsn is observable, causal is not. Causal acc specifies necessary and sufficient conditions for something to happen. Scientific causal acc: (ideal of scientific understanding) specifies all these conditions in terms of general principles. Non scientific causal acc: specifies at least some of the conditions that are necessary and sufficient for something. Correlation: observed when different events occur at the same time or regularly in the same sequence. Causation: when one event is responsible for another event. Eg sore throat and congestion happen together but there"s no causal rlsn bw the 2; the third factor is the cold virus. Causal claims answer the question why , and can be reworded as a question what is responsible for x .