1st Edition

Causation, Evidence, and Inference

By Julian Reiss Copyright 2015
268 Pages
by Routledge

268 Pages
by Routledge

268 Pages
by Routledge

In this book, Reiss argues in favor of a tight fit between evidence, concept and purpose in our causal investigations in the sciences. There is no doubt that the sciences employ a vast array of techniques to address causal questions such as controlled experiments, randomized trials, statistical and econometric tools, causal modeling and thought experiments. But how do these different methods... Read more

1. Causation in a Complex World  Part I: Evidence  2. What’s Wrong with Our Theories of Evidence?  3. Evidence in Context  Part II: Singular Causation  4. Counterfactuals, Thought Experiments and Singular Causal Inference in History  5. Counterfactuals in the Social Sciences  6. Contrastive Causation 7. Singular Causation without Counterfactuals  Part III: Causal Laws  8. Time Series, Nonsense Correlations, and the Principle of the Common Cause  9. Causal Laws in Biomedical and Social Research: Evidence, Inference, and Purpose  Part IV: Semantics  10. Third Time’s a Charm: Causation, Science, and Wittgensteinian Pluralism  11. Causation in the Biomedical and Social Sciences: An Inferentialist Account

Biography

Julian Reiss (PhD 2002, LSE) is Professor of Philosophy at Durham University and Co-Director of the Centre for Humanities Engaging Science and Society (CHESS). His main research interests are methodologies of the sciences (especially causality and causal inference, models, simulations and thought experiments, and counterfactuals), philosophy of economics, and science and values.