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Full Idea
The concept of cause is what holds together our picture of the universe, a picture that would otherwise disintegrate into a diptych of the mental and the physical.
Gist of Idea
Cause unites our picture of the universe; without it, mental and physical will separate
Source
Donald Davidson (Intro to 'Essays on Actions and Events' [1980], p.xi)
Book Ref
Davidson,Donald: 'Essays on Actions and Events' [OUP 1982], p.-6
A Reaction
Davidson seems to be the one who put mental causation at the centre of philosophy. By then denying that there are any 'psycho-physical' laws, he seems to me to have re-opened the metaphysical gap he says he was trying to close.
6383 | Cause unites our picture of the universe; without it, mental and physical will separate [Davidson] |
6384 | The notion of cause is essential to acting for reasons, intentions, agency, akrasia, and free will [Davidson] |
6385 | The causally strongest reason may not be the reason the actor judges to be best [Davidson] |