Single Idea 8360

[catalogued under 26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 8. Particular Causation / c. Conditions of causation]

Full Idea

We may be able to analyse causation into conditionship relations between events or states of affairs, ...but conditions cannot be regarded as logical primitives, ... and must be analysed into quantifiers, or modal concepts.

Gist of Idea

We must further analyse conditions for causation, into quantifiers or modal concepts

Source

G.H. von Wright (Logic and Epistemology of Causal Relations [1973], §2)

Book Reference

'Causation', ed/tr. Sosa,E. /Tooley,M. [OUP 1993], p.106


A Reaction

[very compressed] A nice illustration of the aim of analytical philosophy - to analyse the elements of reality down to logical primitives. This is the dream of Descartes and Leibniz, continued by Russell and co. Do we still have this aspiration?