Book contents
- Causal Processes and Their Warrant
- Causal Processes and Their Warrant
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Panels
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part 1A Theory of Singular Causation
- Chapter 1.0Towards a Thick Theory of Singular Causal Processes
- Chapter 1.1Formal Relations
- Chapter 1.2Processes and Mediators
- Chapter 1.3INUS Conditions
- Chapter 1.4Activities
- Chapter 1.5Tendency Principles
- Chapter 1.6Situation-Specific Causal Equation Models (SCEMs)
- Chapter 1.7Underlying Systems
- Chapter 1.8What We Have Done in Part 1
- Part 2What’s Warrant for Singular Causal Processes and Why
- Part 3Case Study of the Implementation of Signs of Safety in M, a UK Agency Providing a Child Protection Service
- Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 1.0 - Towards a Thick Theory of Singular Causal Processes
from Part 1 - A Theory of Singular Causation
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 April 2026
Book contents
- Causal Processes and Their Warrant
- Causal Processes and Their Warrant
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Panels
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part 1A Theory of Singular Causation
- Chapter 1.0Towards a Thick Theory of Singular Causal Processes
- Chapter 1.1Formal Relations
- Chapter 1.2Processes and Mediators
- Chapter 1.3INUS Conditions
- Chapter 1.4Activities
- Chapter 1.5Tendency Principles
- Chapter 1.6Situation-Specific Causal Equation Models (SCEMs)
- Chapter 1.7Underlying Systems
- Chapter 1.8What We Have Done in Part 1
- Part 2What’s Warrant for Singular Causal Processes and Why
- Part 3Case Study of the Implementation of Signs of Safety in M, a UK Agency Providing a Child Protection Service
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
A ‘thick’ theory of singular causation, incorporating enough detail to allow you to know how to evidence singular causation, is required for empirical investigation of singular causal claims. The term ‘mechanism’ is often employed in describing how a cause produces its effect on any particular occasion. Here we point out that this term is ambiguous between the step-by-step process by which a cause produces an outcome, the underlying conditions that afford causal processes and the causal principles under which causes produce their effects.
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- Causal Processes and their Warrant , pp. 39 - 43Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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