Full Idea
How are we to explain the word 'must' [about causation]? The answer is, I think, that it is either a relic of animism, or else reveals an inclination to treat causal connexion as if it were a form of logical necessity.
Gist of Idea
The attribution of necessity to causation is either primitive animism, or confusion with logical necessity
Source
A.J. Ayer (The Foundations of Empirical Knowledge [1940], IV.18)
Book Reference
Ayer,A.J.: 'The Foundations of Empirical Knowledge' [Macmillan 1969], p.186
A Reaction
The animism proposal just about makes sense (as a primitive feature of minds), but why would anyone, if they had the time and understanding, dream of treating a regular connection as a 'logical' necessity?