Full Idea
I take causal dependence to be counterfactual dependence, of a suitably back-tracking sort, between distinct events.
Gist of Idea
Causal dependence is counterfactual dependence between events
Source
David Lewis (Causal Explanation [1986], I)
Book Reference
Lewis,David: 'Philosophical Papers Vol.2' [OUP 1986], p.216
A Reaction
He quotes Hume in support. 'Counterfactual dependence' strikes me as too vague, or merely descriptive, for the job of explanation. 'If...then' is a logical relationship; what is it in nature that justifies the dependency?
Related Idea
Idea 15462 Backtracking counterfactuals go from supposed events to their required causal antecedents [Lewis]