Causation: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) 1st Edition

by Stephen Mumford (Author),‎ Rani Lill Anjum (Author)

15 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0199684434

ISBN-10: 019968443X

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Causation is the most fundamental connection in the universe. Without it, there would be no science or technology. There would be no moral responsibility either, as none of our thoughts would be connected with our actions and none of our actions with any consequences. Nor would we have a system of law because blame resides only in someone having caused injury or damage.

Any intervention we make in the world around us is premised on there being causal connections that are, to a degree, predictable. It is causation that is at the basis of prediction and also explanation. This Very Short Introduction introduces the key theories of causation and also the surrounding debates and controversies.

About the Series:
Oxford's Very Short Introductions series offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects--from Islam to Sociology, Politics to Classics, Literary Theory to History, and Archaeology to the Bible. Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume in this series provides trenchant and provocative--yet always balanced and complete--discussions of the central issues in a given discipline or field. Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the subject in question, demonstrating how the subject has developed and how it has influenced society. Eventually, the series will encompass every major academic discipline, offering all students an accessible and abundant reference library. Whatever the area of study that one deems important or appealing, whatever the topic that fascinates the general reader, the Very Short Introductions series has a handy and affordable guide that will likely prove indispensable.

Causation: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Stephen Mumford, Professor of Metaphysics at the Department of Philosophy, University of Nottingham,Rani Lill Anjum, Research Fellow in Philosophy, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB)

Stephen Mumford is Professor of Metaphysics at the Department of Philosophy, University of Nottingham, and Dean of the Faculty of Arts. He has written several books on this topic, including Dispositions (OUP, 1998), Laws in Nature (Routledge, 2004), Getting Causes from Powers (with Rani Lill Anjum, OUP, 2011), and Metaphysics: A Very Short Introduction (OUP, 2012).

Rani Lill Anjum is Research Fellow at the Norwegian University of Life Science where she leads the Causation in Science research project (CauSci). CauSci is a global network for those interested in a scientifically informed philosophy of causation. She has written many popular articles in magazines and newspapers and delivered numerous talks for non-specialist audiences. She is the co-author of Getting Causes from Powers (OUP, 2011).

Series: Very Short Introductions
Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press; 1 edition (January 1, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 019968443X
ISBN-13: 978-0199684434
Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.4 x 4.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 15 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #145,465 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #107 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > Philosophy > Ethics
- #533 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Ethics & Morality

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Kenn Brody

A review of the perception of cause and effect in philosophy

January 4, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Causation is the foundation of law, science and, in most cases, religion and human culture. But are two events that occur together really related as cause and effect? Hume proposed that the only justified relationship we could draw between such events was that they occurred together. Actual causes escape observation. However, this destroys the idea of liability, criminal culpability, and free will. What philosophical options are there? An Oxford Professor leads this discussion step by philosophical step.
Having already studied causation and having contributed a paper to this discussion many years ago, I was curious to find out if there were any earth-shaking new ideas. I found none.
While the twists and turns of this discourse may be entertaining to a student of the history of philosophy, I susect many will find it bewildering.

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Roberto Avila

Very useful

August 15, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

A very useful review about the main problems of causation

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Yes

James Kenney

This could have been a very revealing, important book

October 9, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

A dry, difficult read. This is more of a philosophical analysis of what the cause and effect relation means, rather than a guide to the much more sophisticated view of modern physics, in which the concept of "cause and effect" is very problematic, and perhaps meaningless.
Given how deeply intertwined with our entire thought process the notion of cause and effect is, this could have been a very revealing, important book. Unfortunately, that old-fashioned notion is also deeply ingrained in Mumford's mind as well, and the result of his probing is less than satisfactory.

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Amazon Customer

GREAT COVERAGE

April 6, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Mumford writes a very concise but easily followed coverage of the subject and presents a variety of approaches various people have put forth. Well worth reading and lots of reference to further reading if you wish.

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A. Ortega

Five Stars

November 14, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

excellent book

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Modigliani8901

More about the philosophical aspects of causation than the scientific ones: A tough read and not very practical

November 9, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I bought this book (in Kindle format) in the hope of gaining some practical insights as to how one should, and how one should not, do a causation analysis. If your interest is practical, you probably won't find this book helpful. For a start, the title is misleading. This is less a book about causation than a book about the HISTORY of thinking about causation - in other words, it is more philosophical than scientific. In a pedantic way, the authors summarize what various philosophers have had to say about the abstract concept of causation, including Aristotle, Hume, Locke, and so on. To oversimplify only a bit, first the authors present an outdated theory, then they critique what is wrong with it. While it can certainly be helpful to study the history of philosophy (and I generally enjoy that), this reads more like a tedious textbook than a concise summary. It also contains a number of scientific errors that do not help the authors' credibility. For instance, they write, "Who would have thought that the penicillin bacterium could have cured so many ills ...?" but penicillin is not a bacterium - it is a mold.

I own more than a dozen books in the series, and found the others to be very good or excellent. Not this one.

It does have one redeeming feature, however: it is, indeed, very short - which is a good thing because it's a tough read.

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Lawrence J. Winkler

A philosophical not a scientific approach to causation

March 10, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This book is probably quite adequate for those interested in causation as a purely philosophical matter. I'm not, I don't think, but no harm done to my psyche.

I wanted this book to address the scientific modeling and logic of causation, which seems to have made significant strides in the last few decades such as Causal Bayesian networks from those such as Judea Pearl. I wanted this book to be a stripped down conceptual introduction to the area for those wishing to be better and broadly introduced to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) ideas.

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lee

Three Stars

January 12, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

good

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Most recent customer reviews

Too short to be useful, largely due to inattention to matters of epistemology

Too short to be useful, largely due to inattention to matters of epistemology. Hume's influence was huge, but now seems limited. Of J. S.Read more

Published 9 months ago by M. R. C.

Five Stars

Thank you!!

Published 11 months ago by Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Interesting and fun.

Published 1 year ago by Lucio Cañete Arratia

A very short but too "classic" view of an essential topic

Indeed, a very short introduction :) quite useful if you know almost nothing about the subject and don't have time for a heftier volume.Read more

Published on May 17, 2015 by D. Dediu

I highly recommend it. Using Hume's theory of causation as a ...

This book is a concise, clear introduction to what philosophers have said about the theory of causation. I highly recommend it.Read more

Published on April 20, 2015 by BookLover

Excellent basic metaphysical and epistemological overview of the subject of cause and its implications

I'm giving this little book 5 stars not because it was so profound or contributed in any significant way to metaphysics but because it accomplishes what it sets out to do, cover...Read more

Published on February 23, 2015 by Matthew Rapaport

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