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IJMLC 2012 Vol.2(3): 319-326 ISSN: 2010-3700
DOI: 10.7763/IJMLC.2012.V2.138

Probabilistic Theories of Causality: Singular or Plural?

Joonsung Kim

Abstract—Several prominent philosophers of science (Cartwright [2], Dupré [3], Hausman [8], [9], Hitchcock [10]) pose a problem for the probabilistic theory of causally called the unanimity theory. In this paper, I focus on Hitchcock’s criticism of the unanimity theory. I critically examine Hitchcock’s argument against the unanimity theory. After introducing the desirable features of the unanimity theory, I show that the unanimity theory too does the same job Hitchcock’s theory is intended to do. I conclude that the criticism of the unanimity theory on the contrary reveals the versatility of the unanimity theory some philosophers of science and some computer scientists ([17], [21]) do not notice.

Index Terms—Binary, causality, contrast, disjunctive factors, ternary, population, probabilistic theory, unanimity.

Joonsung Kim is with the Department of Philosophy, Myongji University, Seoul, Korea (ROK) (e-mail: jkim30@ mju.ac.kr).

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Cite: Joonsung Kim, "Probabilistic Theories of Causality: Singular or Plural?," International Journal of Machine Learning and Computing vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 319-326, 2012.

General Information

  • E-ISSN: 2972-368X
  • Abbreviated Title: Int. J. Mach. Learn.
  • Frequency: Quarterly
  • DOI: 10.18178/IJML
  • Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Lin Huang
  • Executive Editor:  Ms. Cherry L. Chen
  • Abstracing/Indexing: Inspec (IET), Google Scholar, Crossref, ProQuest, Electronic Journals LibraryCNKI.
  • E-mail: ijml@ejournal.net
  • APC: 500USD


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