A theory of structural determination

Abstract

While structural equations modeling is increasingly used in philosophical theorizing about causation, it remains unclear what it takes for a particular structural equations model to be correct. To the extent that this issue has been addressed, the consensus appears to be that it takes a certain family of causal counterfactuals being true. I argue that this account faces difficulties in securing the independent manipulability of the structural determination relations represented in a correct structural equations model. I then offer an alternate understanding of structural determination, and I demonstrate that this theory guarantees that structural determination relations are independently manipulable. The account provides a straightforward way of understanding hypothetical interventions, as well as a criterion for distinguishing hypothetical changes in the values of variables which constitute interventions from those which do not. It additionally affords a semantics for causal counterfactual conditionals which is able to yield a clean solution to a problem case for the standard 'closest possible world' semantics.

Causal Models and Metaphysics—Part 2: Interpreting Causal Models

“…Some views treat equations as representing causal influence taken as primitive (Cartwright, 2016; Gallow, 2016, 2021, 2023), reducing actual causation to causal influence (see Part 1, §5). But some views take this further, reducing causal influence to lawlike regularities or nomological dependencies (Andreas & Gunther, forthcominga, 2024; Papineau, 2022; Pearl, 2000/2009).…”

Causal counterfactuals without miracles or backtracking

“…Since I am inclined to accept a broadly causalist theory of rational choice, I would prefer a semantics for causal counterfactuals which denies (B4). I provide a semantics like this in Gallow (2016). In § §2 and 3 below, I will introduce and motivate this semantics.…”

“…Because these models contain only a single structural equation, I'll focus on this special case here. A more general treatment can be found in Gallow (2016).…”

How to Trace a Causal Process

“…In this case, we should not include a directed edge from 𝑇 to 𝑉. 2 In Gallow (2016), I provide a theory of influence. See also Gallow (forthcoming).…”