Jump to content

Axiom of Causality

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 37.47.82.235 (talk) at 14:22, 14 August 2020 (Reordered, some essential fixes). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Universal Causation, The Axiom of Causality (similarly Principle of Universal Causation (PUC) or Law of Universal Causation) is the proposition that everything in the universe has a cause and is thus an effect of that cause. This means that if a given event occurs, then this is the result of a previous, related event.[1] If an object is in a certain state, then it is in that state as a result of another object interacting with it previously.

The idea of universal causation is formulated similarly in western philosophy for ages, however has some profound differences in methodology and philosophical assumptions.

According to William Whewell (hypothetico-deductivist view) the concept of universal causation depends on three axioms:[2]

  1. Nothing takes place without a cause
  2. The magnitude of an effect is proportional to the magnitude of its cause
  3. To every action there is an equal and opposed reaction.

Contrary to hypothetico-deductivists John Stuart Mill focuses on inductive reasoning and senses in framing the Law of Universal Causation: uses basic features of experimental methods.[3][4]

Other examples of formulation:

In addition, everything that becomes or changes must do so owing to some cause; for nothing can come to be without a cause. — Plato in "Timaeus", c. 360 BC

or

Causality is universal. Nowhere in the world can there be any phenomena that do not give rise to certain consequences and have not been caused by other phenomena. — Alexander Spirkin in "Dialectical Materialism", 1984

Popular proof and answer for skepticism is that PUC has been true in so many cases, that (basing on enumerative inductive reasoning)[4] it is reasonable to say that it is true in every case, moreover counter-example i.e. event that does not have a cause is hard to conceive.[5]

Examples

Example for the axiom: if a baseball is moving through the air, it must be moving this way because of a previous interaction with another object, such as being hit by a baseball bat.

Criticism

Modern version of PUC is connected with Newtonian physics, but is also criticized for instance by David Hume who presents skeptical reductionist view on causality.[6] Since then his view on the concept of causality is often predominating (see Causality, After the Middle Ages). Kant answered to Hume in many aspects, defending the a priority of universal causation.[7]

An epistemological axiom is a self-evident truth. Thus the "Axiom of Causality" implicitly claims to be a universal rule that is so obvious that it does not need to be proved to be accepted. Even among epistemologists, the existence of such a rule is controversial. See the full article on Epistemology.

Spontaneity

One implication of the Axiom is that if a phenomenon appears to occur without any observable external cause, the cause must be internal. See Compatibilism.

Variation

Another implication of the Axiom is that all change in the universe is a result of the continual application of physical laws.

Determinism

If all events are cause and effect relationships that follow universal rules, then all events—past, present and future—are theoretically determinate. See Causal determinism.

First Cause

Main article: First Cause

If all effects are the result of previous causes, then the cause of a given effect must itself be the effect of a previous cause, which itself is the effect of a previous cause, and so on, forming an infinite logical chain of events that can have no beginning.

Exception for the axiom - First Cause is sometimes pointed out to be logically necessary for PUC to not contradict itself. Infinite chain of events is hard to conceive in finite world. The answer is looped chain of events. But this is also questioned as the whole loop would have no cause. However it can not be ruled out that the Universe is infinite in time.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Law of universal causation", Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (editor Noah Porter, Springfield, MA: C. & G. Merriam Co., 1913)
  2. ^ Losee, John. Theories of Causality: From Antiquity to the Present. p. 129.
  3. ^ System of Logic, Book III, Chapter V, Of The Law Of Universal Causation., pp. 373-426
  4. ^ a b https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/scientific-method/#HisRevAriMil
  5. ^ Castell, A. (1972). The Status of the Principle of Universal Causation. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 32(3), 403-407. doi:10.2307/2105573
  6. ^ James Baillie, "Routledge Philosophy GuideBook to Hume on Morality"
  7. ^ https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-hume-causality/
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Axiom_of_Causality&oldid=972929428"