UZPH0112 Theories of causation

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2008
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Ing. Mgr. Zdeňka Jastrzembská, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Jan Zouhar, CSc.
Department of Philosophy – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Hana Holmanová
Timetable
Wed 10:00–11:35 B12
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The aim of the course is to introduce the spectrum of problems that forms the framework of contemporary philosophical discussions of causation. On the one hand, some basic questions will be delineated and analysed. (Which is the nature of processes that link causes and effects? It is possible to reduce causal relations to some noncausal ones? What distinguishes the causal processes from the pseudo-processes? It is causal relation given directly in our experience, or it is pure theoretical notion? etc.) On the other hand, the most influential conceptions and approaches to solving these will be presented. Hume’s inquiry into the nature of causation. The tradition that attemts to explain causation in terms of necessary and/or sufficient conditions. Probabilistic theories of causations that aim to characterize the relationship between cause and effect using the tools of probability theory. Counterfactual theories of causation that appear in connection with the development of possible world semantics for counterfactuals and that a singular causal claim try to explain in terms of counterfactual conditionals. Theories of causal processes and also some singularistic approaches. The focus will be on the participation in course work and on the reading.
Syllabus
  • 01. Fundamental problems of philosophy of causation
  • 02. David Hume - epistemology
  • 03. David Hume - (two) definitions of cause
  • 04. Cause as necessary and/or sufficient condition
  • 05. Cause as INUS condition
  • 06. Probabilistic theories of causation
  • 07. Counterfactual theories of causation
  • 08. Theories of causal processes
  • 09. Agency theories of causation
Literature
  • JASTRZEMBSKÁ, Zdeňka. Kauzální aspekty vysvětlení (Causal Aspects of Explanation). 1. vyd. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2007, 87 pp. ISBN 978-80-210-4442-5. info
  • NOVOTNÝ, Zdeněk. David Hume a jeho teorie vědění. Olomouc: Votobia, 1999, 213 s. ISBN 80-7198-366-7. info
  • HUME, David. Zkoumání o lidském rozumu. Vyd. v tomto překl. 1. Praha: Svoboda, 1996, 235 s. ISBN 8020505210. info
  • Causation. Edited by Ernest Sosa - Michael Tooley. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993, viii, 249. ISBN 0-19-875093-5. info
  • Causation and conditionals. Edited by Ernest Sosa. London: Oxford University Press, 1975, vi, 199. ISBN 0198750307. info
  • SMITH, Norman Kemp. The philosophy of David Hume : a critical study of its origins and central doctrines. London: Macmillan and Co., 1941. info
Assessment methods
Test. Final paper (and its draft).
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2005, Autumn 2006, Autumn 2007.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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