论因果传递性原则

因果关系通常被视为一种传递关系。近年来,哲学家们提出了两类典型的反例来挑战因果传递性原则。当前有代表性的三种解决方案,即相称性方案、面向性方案、对比主义方案,均能够恰当应对第一类反例,但却难以应对第二类反例。通过区分事件系统演化的缺省状态与偏离状态,可以构造一种新的解决方案。在此方案下,因果陈述中所隐含的对系统演化状态的索引化指称得以明晰化,从而可以看到,在两类反例中要么事实上存在因果传递性,要么表面的传递性失败其实源于对案例的不恰当表征。继而因果传递性原则得以捍卫。

On the Principle of Causal Transitivity

Causal relations are commonly taken to transitive.Recent years have witnessed the challenge of this by two types of putative counterexamples.Proportionalism,Aspect Theory and Contrastive Theory,the three most prevailing theories at market all accommodate the first type of cases well but fail to accommodate the second.Appealing to the default-deviant states distinction of event systems,we suggest a new proposal.According to it,the hidden index to system states are made explicit and by this,either causal transitivity really holds in those cases or the representations of them are inaccurate.Thus causal transitivity can be defended.