大卫·刘易斯论因果性

David Lewis on Causation

现代哲学对于因果概念的讨论受惠于休谟,休谟关于因果概念有不同的定义。他除了从相继性、接近性和恒常联系三个特点定义因果关系,还从某种反事实条件关系描述了因果概念。大卫·刘易斯从事件之间的反事实依赖关系对因果性进行了细致分析,体现了剖析因果性概念的新视角,同时也充分表明大卫.刘易斯的模态实在论立场和反事实条件句逻辑在其系统哲学建构中的解释力。

The study of ＂causation＂ in modem philosophy owns a great deal to David Hume, who defined causation in two different ways. Causes and effects are defined from their contiguity, regular succession and constant conjtmetion, while in the other definition causation is analyzed in virtue of kind of counterfactuals, David Lewis noticed the latter and defined causation in terms of causal dependence among events, which in turn in terms of the counterfaetual dependence between two families of possible propositions. This eounterfaetual analysis indicates a new perspeetive on causation besides the regularity analyses. Moreover it is based on his modal realism and eounterfactual logic, which play a fundamental role in the construction of his systematic philosophy.