Positive Causal Indeterminacy

A number of philosophers have recently proposed cases of causal indeterminacy, cases in which there is no determinate fact of the matter concerning what causes what. In the most promising cases of causal indeterminacy, the causes are absences or omissions. This severely limits the scope of causal indeterminacy, especially given that it is disputed whether absences and omissions can be causes. In this paper I do two things. First, I argue that there are cases of causal indeterminacy in which the causes are not absences or omissions, but positive events, that are relevantly analogous to the most prominent cases of causal indeterminacy. Second, I will argue that these cases are in better standing than other putative cases of indeterminate causation involving positive events as causes that have recently been discussed.

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Publication Details

Journal
Philosophic exchange
Published
2026-08-26
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/29960126.2026.2686081
Primary Topic
Philosophy and Theoretical Science
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Positive Causal Indeterminacy

Jonas Werner
Philosophic exchange
Philosophy and Theoretical Science
article

Positive Causal Indeterminacy

Jonas Werner
article en

Abstract

A number of philosophers have recently proposed cases of causal indeterminacy, cases in which there is no determinate fact of the matter concerning what causes what. In the most promising cases of causal indeterminacy, the causes are absences or omissions. This severely limits the scope of causal indeterminacy, especially given that it is disputed whether absences and omissions can be causes. In this paper I do two things. First, I argue that there are cases of causal indeterminacy in which the causes are not absences or omissions, but positive events, that are relevantly analogous to the most prominent cases of causal indeterminacy. Second, I will argue that these cases are in better standing than other putative cases of indeterminate causation involving positive events as causes that have recently been discussed.

Philosophic exchange
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (DE)
Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
Reduced inequalities
Openalex Percentile: Top 7%
Philosophy and Theoretical Science
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