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Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science

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Conference, 9-10 October. Pluralism and Causality

Causal methods play a key role throughout the natural and social sciences and causality has long proved a challenging and difficult topic for philosophers. In this workshop, leading philosophers of science and statisticians critically discuss pluralism and causality. They address key questions such as: is it possible to hold a unified view of causality that applies to all situations? Or is pluralism preferable, adopting sometimes irreconcilable views of causality for different contexts? What hope do different, current views of causality (e.g. counterfactual, mechanistic, probabilistic) hold for either a pluralistic or non pluralistic treatment of causality? Questions on pluralism and causality typically involve ontological and methodological issues that are closely connected. For example, justifications of methods of causal inference will depend, often implicitly, on particular standpoints on the ontology of causes. Conversely, ontological arguments often appeal to scientific practice/method for support of some pluralist or non-pluralist view. Therefore, it is crucial for philosophers and methodologists to debate these issues together. This workshop aims to encourage just such fruitful debate and discussion. Speakers: Nancy Cartwright , London School of Economics Philip Dawid, University College London Maria Carla Galavotti, University of Bologna Sandra Mitchell, University of Pittsburgh John Norton, University of Pittsburgh David Papineau, Kings College London