In terms of the thought of an energetic causal route, Hitchcock talks of genuine otherwise token causation from the following the conditions:
(10) If c and e are distinct actual events and X and Z are binary variables whose values represent the occurrence and non-occurrence of these events, then c is a cause of e if and only if there is an active causal route from X to Z in an appropriate causal model
Lewis resorts in order to quasi-dependence since smashing of your bottles (e) does not counterfactually depend on Suzys place (c), as a consequence of what can provides happened had she perhaps not thrown (viz, Billys stone would have shattered the brand new bottles instead)
As previously mentioned, (10) doesnt deal with cases of symmetrical overdetermination as the when Suzy and you can Billy each other place the stones separately, for every throw will do towards package to-break, and you may one another rocks strike the container so neither put preempts the new almost every other, while the neither put is found on an energetic channel because laid out inside the (9). To handle such as cases, Hitchcock weakens (10) by replacement new ‘energetic route from inside the (10) on the thought of an excellent weakly productive route (2001: 290). Probably the most tip right here that there’s a great weakly productive station anywhere between X and you may Z just when Z counterfactually hinges on X in freezing of some you can, never genuine, opinions of one’s details which aren’t to the station out of X so you can Z. Intuitively, to recuperate counterfactual dependence anywhere between Suzys put and smashing i keep fixed BT = 0: got Suzy maybe not tossed regarding the model in which Billy doesnt put, the fresh container lack shattered. Also having Billys put.
Might strategy deployed right here to deal with each other preemption and you may symmetrical overdetermination bears a glaring resemblance so you’re able to Lewiss quasi-reliance substitute for new late hookup bars Gold Coast preemption state. e quasi-relies on c, but not, because of the fact one to during the a prospective world into exact same rules where in actuality the inherent profile of procedure regarding c in order to age is similar but Billy doesnt toss, you have the necessary counterfactual dependence. ‘Cold parameters which are not built-in toward c-elizabeth process during the its actual philosophy (inside late preemption instances) elizabeth.grams. freezing BH at 0 converts around a comparable secret. The newest center huge difference would be the fact Lewiss solution pertains to popular with brand new specifics out-of a perfectly ordinary counterfactual (“When the Suzy had not tossed, …”) at the a prospective world in which specific genuine occurrences (age.g. Billys strike) you should never exist, just like the architectural-equations solution involves attractive to the fact away from a beneficial counterfactual that have a special version of antecedent (“Got Suzy not thrown and you can Billys stone nonetheless not struck, …”). Hitchcock phone calls these types of ‘explicitly nonforetracking (ENF) counterfactuals. (Similarly having shaped overdetermination, in which we ‘frost BT on 0 this time around a low-actual worth to recoup counterfactual reliance anywhere between Suzys toss while the shattering.)
5.2 SEF and you can Counterfactuals
Whoever has pursued the brand new SEF method of bringing a diagnosis off ‘genuine causation which is, the newest causal relatives anywhere between genuine, type of occurrences had little to say in regards to the semantics of the counterfactuals one to underpin SEF. Some writers (elizabeth.g. Hitchcock 2001) explicitly and many people implicitly imagine a generally Lewisian way of counterfactuals, so the architectural equations was representations of affairs from circumstances on counterfactual dependency as the explained above whoever realities criteria are broadly Lewisian.