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Single Idea 8411

[filed under theme 26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 8. Particular Causation / b. Causal relata ]

Full Idea

I propose to approach causality by taking processes rather than events as basic entities. Events are relatively localised in space and time, while processes have much greater temporal duration, and, in many cases, much greater spatial extent.

Gist of Idea

Instead of localised events, I take enduring and extended processes as basic to causation

Source

Wesley Salmon (Causality: Production and Propagation [1980], §2)

Book Ref

'Causation', ed/tr. Sosa,E. /Tooley,M. [OUP 1993], p.155


A Reaction

This strikes me as an incredibly promising proposal, not just in our understanding of causation, but for our general metaphysics and understanding of nature. See Idea 4931, for example. Vague events and processes blend into one another.

Related Idea

Idea 4931 Consciousness is a process (of neural interactions), not a location, thing, property, connectivity, or activity [Edelman/Tononi]


The 3 ideas from 'Causality: Production and Propagation'

Instead of localised events, I take enduring and extended processes as basic to causation [Salmon]
A causal interaction is when two processes intersect, and correlated modifications persist afterwards [Salmon]
Cause must come first in propagations of causal interactions, but interactions are simultaneous [Salmon]