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Courses - Spring 2023
PHIL
Philosophy Department Site
PHIL408X
Topics in Contemporary Philosophy; Making Things Happen: Causation and Causal Reasoning between Science and Ordinary Life
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
Causation appears to be everywhere, and science often aims at formulating causal explanations of phenomena. Yet it's hard to say what causation is. What is it for an event to cause another, aside from the two happening one after the other? Moreover, it is notoriously hard to distinguish causation from correlation. How can we correctly infer that an event was caused by another, as opposed to the two merely occurring together? This course will take an interdisciplinary approach to these issues, surveying work on causation and causal reasoning in philosophy, psychology, and computer science.