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CAPTURING CAUSAL REASONING USING ADAPTIVE
LOGICS (Within Research Project Applying
Adaptive Logics in the History and Philosophy of
Science) Leen.DeVreese_at_UGent.be

CAUSALITY
ADAPTIVE LOGICS
TO DEVELOP AND APPLY ADAPTIVE LOGICS THAT CAN
EXPLICATE THE CAUSAL REASONING PROCESSES
PERFORMED BY RESEARCHERS.
AIM

• Development of ALcd
• Van Dyck, M.,
• Causal Reasoning Using
• Adaptive Logics
• Application of ALcd
• De Vreese L. Weber E.,
• Application of the Adaptive
• Logic for Causal Discovery.
• (application on sociological study
• investigating the relation between
• parental separation and smoking
• initiation in adolescents)

CAUSAL DISCOVERY
ALcd (adaptive logic for causal
discovery) ALcm (adaptive logic for causal
reasoning using mechanisms)

• What?
• How do scientists reason from correlations to
  causal relations?
• What is the function that mechanisms (can) play
  in this kind of causal reasoning?

• GENERAL FRAMEWORK
• The adaptive logic programme aims at developing
  formal logics that are able to
• explicate the dynamic aspects of human
  reasoning.
• Adaptive logics have some advantages with regard
  to classical logic
• Adaptive logics are able to capture two kinds of
  dynamics in a reasoning process
• External dynamics conclusions can be withdrawn
  in view of new information.
• Internal dynamics conclusions can be withdrawn
  in view of the better
• understanding of the premises.
• The dynamic proof theory of adaptive logics makes
  it possible to handle e.g.
• inconsistent data, conditions, priorities,
• The most important property of adaptive logics
  for this project is their ability to
• capture conditional reasoning processes some
  derivations can only be made
• provided that certain conditions hold throughout
  the reasoning.

• So what?
• Philosophical conclusions with regard to the
  covariation/mechanism debate and the combination
  of both approaches.

SINGULAR CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS
ALcs (adaptive logic for singular causal
explanation)

• What?
• How do researchers go on in their search for
  singular causal explanations?

• So What?
• Philosophical conclusions with regard to the
  specific characteristics of singular causal
  explanations in comparison with other kinds of
  causal reasoning.

• FEEDBACK to General Framework
• necessary adaptations
• useful extensions
• (formal) problems to be solved

COUNTERFACTUALS
ALcf (adaptive logic for causal reasoning using
counterfactuals)

• What?
• How does one conclude to causal relations on the
  basis of counterfactuals?.
• We focus in particular on the criticisms on David
  Lewis approach with regard to trumping,
  preemption, context-dependence and
  intransitivity.

• So What?
• Philosophical conclusions with respect to the
  counterfactual approach and her critics.