Combining Texts

Ideas for 'fragments/reports', 'Mind and Its Place in Nature' and 'Physical Causation'

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2 ideas

26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 4. Naturalised causation
Causation interaction is an exchange of conserved quantities, such as mass, energy or charge [Dowe, by Psillos]
     Full Idea: Dowe argues that a 'causal process' is a world line of an object with a conserved quantity (such as mass, energy, momentum, charge), and a 'causal interaction' is an exchange between two such objects.
     From: report of Phil Dowe (Physical Causation [2000]) by Stathis Psillos - Causation and Explanation §4.4
     A reaction: This looks very promising. Nice distinction between causal process and causal interaction. 'Conserved quantities' is better physics than just 'energy'. We can hand causation over to the scientist?
Physical causation consists in transference of conserved quantities [Dowe, by Mumford/Anjum]
     Full Idea: For Dowe physical causation consists in transference of conserved quantities.
     From: report of Phil Dowe (Physical Causation [2000]) by S.Mumford/R.Lill Anjum - Getting Causes from Powers 10.2
     A reaction: [see Psillos 2002 on this] This is evidently a modification of the idea of physical causation as energy-transfer, but narrowing it down to exclude trivial cases. I guess. Need better physics.