Full Idea
Perhaps science doesn't need a robust conception of causation, and can get by with thinking of causal laws in a Humean way, as the simplest generalization over the mosaic.
Gist of Idea
Maybe scientific causation is just generalisation about the patterns
Source
John Hawthorne (Causal Structuralism [2001], 1.5)
Book Reference
Hawthorne,John: 'Metaphysical Essays' [OUP 2002], p.219
A Reaction
The Humean view he is referring to is held by David Lewis. That seems a council of defeat. We observe from a distance, but make no attempt to explain.