Abstract
Cartwright (Synthese 121(1/2):3–27, 1999a; The dappled world, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1999b) attacked the view that causal relations conform to the Markov condition by providing a counterexample in which a common cause does not screen off its effects: the prominent chemical factory. In this paper we suggest a new way to handle counterexamples to Markov causation such as the chemical factory. We argue that Cartwright’s as well as similar scenarios (such as decay processes, EPR/B experiments, or spontaneous macro breaking processes) feature a certain kind of non-causal dependence that kicks in once the common cause occurs. We then develop a representation of this specific kind of non-causal dependence that allows for modeling the problematic scenarios in such a way that the Markov condition is not violated anymore.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1467-1486 |
Number of pages | 20 |
Journal | Synthese |
Volume | 197 |
Issue number | 4 |
Early online date | 16-Nov-2018 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2020 |