Im Rahmen des Forschungsseminars laden wir recht herzlich ein zum Vortrag:

Prof. Holger Andreas (Univ. of British Columbia) - An Inferential Approach to Spurious Causation

Abstract

The problem of spurious causation appears to be insurmountable within an inferential approach to causation: suppose we observe the flash of a lightning at the sky. Using certain laws of nature, we can infer therefrom that there will be a thunder few seconds later. So we have an inferential connection between the flash and the thunder, where the flash precedes the thunder. Is the flash therefore a cause of the thunder? Of course not! We aim to solve this problem by taking a closer look at the inferential paths in scenarios of spurious causation, including the temporal order of intermediate conclusions and the different types of generalisations used. This results in what my described as a proof-theoretic solution of the problem of spurious causation. 

Speaker

PhD at the University of Leipzig. Visiting Scholar at Stanford University.  Assistant Professor at the University of Boon. Assistant Professor at LMU Munich. Heisenberg-Fellow of the DFG. Tenure Track Professorship at the University of British Columbia. 

Publications in leading journals for philosophy of science, logic, and formal epistemology (Philosophy of Science, Studia Logica, Journal of Logic, Language and Information, Erkenntnis, Synthese, Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science.)