4......What is Causality_.pdf

Alaa Y. El-Daly Assistant Lecturer – English Department sinaiuniversity.net Types of Causes INDEX Types of Causalities @Sinaiunieg [email protected] www.su.edu.eg What is Causality? The relationship between something (regularly correlated events or phenomena) that happens or exists and the...

Alaa Y. El-Daly Assistant Lecturer – English Department sinaiuniversity.net Types of Causes INDEX Types of Causalities @Sinaiunieg [email protected] www.su.edu.eg What is Causality? The relationship between something (regularly correlated events or phenomena) that happens or exists and the thing that causes it. (Consequence Relationship). Simply, it’s the relation between a cause and its effect or between regularly correlated events or phenomena. What is Causality? A causal relationship is a cause-and-effect relationship where one event or variable directly results in the occurrence of another event or change in another variable. In other words, it's a connection between two things where one is the result of the other. Synonyms for Causality? Consequence Sequence Cause Effect Disposition Outcome Result Sequel Cause and effect A cause is the reason that something happens. An effect is the result of the cause. Causes & Dispositions What does it mean to say that "A causes B?" If you think about it, it's not so simple. When non-scientists talk about causality, they generally mean that the first event preceded the second in time and seemed to be related to its occurrence. @Sinaiunieg [email protected] www.su.edu.eg Causes & Dispositions Scientists, however, need to be a little clearer. They need to know if exposure to a toxin always makes people sick or only sometimes. They need to understand if a nasty symptom can be caused by one virus or several. It's not enough to simply say that one thing causes another. Scientists have to be able to describe the nature of that association. @Sinaiunieg [email protected] www.su.edu.eg Causes & Dispositions Scientific thinking requires precision. One set of distinctions that are essential to precise scientific thinking are the different types of Causes and Causalities. @Sinaiunieg [email protected] www.su.edu.eg Types of Causes Causes 1) Sufficient cause 2) Necessary cause 3) Necessary and sufficient cause 4) Contributory causes @Sinaiunieg [email protected] www.su.edu.eg To illustrate the difference, let us consider the relation between smoking and lung cancer: Causes • If smoking were a sufficient cause of lung cancer, everyone who smoked would get lung cancer These are all the possible causes, any one of these could have caused the phenomenon, most sufficient causes are not necessary causes. @Sinaiunieg [email protected] 1. Sufficient Cause www.su.edu.eg If A is sufficient for B (sufficient cause), that means that if you have A, you will ALWAYS have B. In other words, if something is a sufficient cause, 1. Sufficient Cause then every time it happens the outcome will follow. The outcome always follows the cause. However, the outcome may occur without the cause. @Sinaiunieg [email protected] www.su.edu.eg Sufficient cause means that a particular cause is enough to have an effect, though other causes could bring that effect about as well. 1. Sufficien Cause Example :Eating a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream every day is enough to make you fat just by itself (assuming that the rest of your diet stays the same). It is a sufficient cause of weight gain. @Sinaiunieg [email protected] www.su.edu.eg To illustrate the difference, let us consider the relation between smoking and lung cancer: Causes • If smoking were a necessary cause of lung cancer, only smokers would get lung cancer; non-smokers would never get it. These must exist in order for the phenomenon to happen, but their existence does not mean the phenomenon will always occur, the absence of any deterrent is also a kind of necessary cause. @Sinaiunieg [email protected] 2. Necessary Cause www.su.edu.eg If A is necessary for B (necessary cause) that means you will never have B if you don't have A. In other words, of one thing is a necessary cause of another, 2. Necessary Cause then that means that the outcome can never happen without the cause. However, sometimes the cause occurs without the outcome. @Sinaiunieg [email protected] www.su.edu.eg It regards whether a particular cause is needed to bring about an effect and if that cause is enough by itself. Necessary causation occurs when you absolutely, positively must have a certain cause to observe a corresponding outcome. Simply having that cause may not be enough to have the effect, but you definitely need that specific cause to have any hope of observing the effect . 2. Necessary Cause Example: yb ,riA .efil rof esuac yrassecen a si ria os ,evila eb ot ria deen uoY erew uoy ebyaM .yalp otni emoc nac sgniht rehto rof ,hguone eb ton thgim ,flesti ’uoy dna ,alobE sah taht yeknom dezarc emos yb nettib tsuj re going to be dead by sundown no matter how much air you breathe. @Sinaiunieg [email protected] www.su.edu.eg To illustrate the difference, let us consider the relation between smoking and lung cancer: Causes • If smoking were a sufficient and necessary cause, everyone who smoked, and only those who smoked would get lung cancer. If A is both sufficient and necessary for B, B will never happen without A. Furthermore, B will ALWAYS happen after A. The cause always leads to the outcome, and the outcome never happens without the cause. @Sinaiunieg [email protected] 3. Sufficient & Necessary Cause www.su.edu.eg To illustrate the difference, let us consider the relation between smoking and lung cancer: • If smoking were a contributing cause of lung cancer, smokers would have a higher rate of lung cancer than nonsmokers – which of course they do. @Sinaiunieg [email protected] Causes 4. Contributing Cause www.su.edu.eg Cause – Effect Relations @Sinaiunieg [email protected] www.su.edu.eg Cause – Effect Relations Types of Causality Causalities 1) Linear Causality 2) Circular Causality 3) Negative Feedback Causality 4) Chain Reaction Causality @Sinaiunieg [email protected] www.su.edu.eg Linear Causality exists where A causes B, but B has no effect on A. An example of Causalities linear causality would be the effect of the sun on the temperature of the earth. Sunshine warms up the earth, but the earth’s temperature has virtually no effect on the sun. @Sinaiunieg 1. Linear Causality [email protected] www.su.edu.eg Circular Causality takes place in Vicious circle interaction, where A causes B, which in turn Causalities produces an increase in A, which causes more B, etc. until the system breaks down or reaches a level of maximum effect. If two persons are having an argument, each person’s reaction to other person’s anger 2. Circular generates more anger until an explosion of anger Causality takes place. @Sinaiunieg [email protected] www.su.edu.eg Negative Feedback Causality,’ takes place in the homeostatic mechanisms through the body, where A causes B, and an increase in B causes a decrease Causalities in A, such that an equilibrium is established. Negative feedback causality is found in the homeostatic mechanism of our bodies which keep temperatures, blood sugar, oxygen level, etc. relatively consonant. When more oxygen is needed, we breathe faster, thus bringing more 3. Negative Feedback Causality oxygen into the lungs and blood stream. @Sinaiunieg [email protected] www.su.edu.eg Chain Reaction Causality,’ takes place in explosion: a small initial cause, such as a tiny spark, can start a chain reaction in which each reaction sets off many Causalities others reactions. Chain reaction causality takes place where cell division enables a tiny fertilized egg to grow into an elephant. Another example of a chain reaction is the reproduction of bacteria where each cell divides every few minutes, and these produce thousands more. @Sinaiunieg [email protected] 4. Chain Reaction Causality www.su.edu.eg Choose the correct answer: Mark “ √” for True sentences and “x” for False ones: 1. The effect is the response of the cause and it happens first. 2. Smoking is a sufficient but not necessary cause of lung cancer. 3. Causality means the relation between a cause and its effect e relation between a cause and its effect. 4. Necessary causation occurs when you positively must have a certain cause to observe a corresponding result. 5. In real life, smoking is a sufficient cause of lung cancer . 6. If smoking were a sufficient cause of lung cancer, non-smokers would never get lung cancer. Match the following examples with the scientific thinking’s categories of causality from a, b or c: 1. When you do effort, the oxygen level decreases, so the breathing rate increases to reach a balance. . a. chain reaction causality b. circular causality c. negative feedback causality b. 2. The reproduction of bacteria takes place where each cell divides every few minutes. a. chain reaction causality b. circular causality c. negative feedback causality 3. I give my son the money he needs. My son gives me nothing back. a. circular causality b. linear causality c. chain reaction causality 4. I’m Fat and this is depressing. And when I get depressed I eat more. So I get much fatter. a. linear causality b. circular causality c. negative feedback causality 5. In explosion, each reaction sets off many other reactions. a. chain reaction causality b. circular causality c. negative feedback causality THANK YOU For any questions feel free to contact me by mail [email protected] Alaa Y. El-Daly Assistant Lecturer – English Department