Abstract
Price’s (Br J Philos Sci 42(2):157–176, 1991; 44(2):187–203, 1993 (with Peter Menzies); 2007, 2017) agency theory of causation has takes itself to provide a use-theory of our causal discourse. The theory’s aim is to describe the rules implicit to our linguistic behaviour when we describe things in causal terms. According to this theory, the rules governing our use of the concept of causation are based on our perspective as agents and our associated experiences of manipulating events. I argue that the observed relation between agency and our concept of causation cannot exhaustively describe the conditions under which we enter into causal discourse. In particular, I demonstrate that the agency theory faces familiar problems with accounting for causal ascriptions to token cases.
Highlights
Price’s (Br J Philos Sci 42(2):157–176, 1991; 44(2):187–203, 1993; 2007, 2017) agency theory of causation has takes itself to provide a use-theory of our causal discourse
Much of the philosophical discourse on causation concerns the metaphysics of the causal relation; but, Price’s (1991, 1993, 2007, 2017) agency theory of causation has occupied itself with providing an account of our causal discourse
Price’s (1991, 1992, 1993, 2017) agency theory takes this idea one step further; on his account, we call a cause a cause because it is an effective strategy for achieving its effect
Summary
Much ink has been spilt on formalising this intuitive distinction, and the agency theory is best seen as part of this tradition. It begins with the idea most notably articulated in Cartwright (1979) that what distinguishes causal regularities from non-causal ones is that the former can be exploited by agents in order to achieve their ends. Price’s (1991, 1992, 1993 (with Peter Menzies), 2017) agency theory takes this idea one step further; on his account, we call a cause a cause because it is an effective strategy for achieving its effect. I will construct an explicitly use-theoretic version of the agency theory on Price’s behalf
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have