Abstract
A shift in emphasis can change the truth-value of a singular causal sentence. This poses a challenge to the view that singular sentences predicate a relation. I argue that emphasized causal sentences conjoin predication of a causal relation between events with predication of a relation of causal relevance between states of affairs (or perhaps facts). This is superior to the treatments of such sentences offered by Achinstein, Dretske, Kim, Sanford, Bennett, and Levin. My proposal affords clarity regarding logical structure, at least at a certain level of detail. It makes the relation between the content of an emphasized causal sentence and the unemphasized version clear. It answers some questions about the ontological requirements of the truth of emphasized causal sentences, without introducing new entities (as do some other accounts) or unacceptable consequences for identity and individuation of events.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achinstein, Peter: 1975, ‘Causation, Transparency, and Emphasis’,Canadian Journal of Philosophy 5, 1–23.
Achinstein, Peter: 1983,The Nature of Explanation, Oxford University Press, New York.
Armstrong, D. M.: 1978,A Theory of Universals, Cambridge University Press, New York.
Armstrong, D. M.: 1983,What Is a Law of Nature?, Cambridge University Press, New York.
Bennett, Jonathan: 1988,Events and Their Names, Hackett, Indianapolis.
Cartwright, Nancy: 1983,How the Laws of Physics Lie, Oxford University Press, New York.
Davidson, Donald: 1967, ‘Causal Relations’,Journal of Philosophy 64, 691–703 (reprinted in: 1980,Essays on Actions and Events, Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 149–62).
Dretske, Fred I.: 1972, ‘Contrastive Statements’,Philosophical Review 81, 411–37.
Dretske, Fred I.: 1977, ‘Laws of Nature’,Philosophy of Science 44, 248–68.
Dretske, Fred I.: 1979, ‘Referring to Events’, in Peter A. French, Theodore E. Uehling, Jr., and Howard K. Wettstein (eds.),Contemporary Perspectives in the Philosophy of Language, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, pp. 369–78.
Kim, Jaegwon: 1973, ‘Causation, Nomic Subsumption, and the Concept of Event’,Journal of Philosophy 70, 217–36.
Kim, Jaegwon: 1979, ‘Causation, Emphasis, and Events’, in Peter A. French, Theodore E. Uehling, Jr., and Howard K. Wettstein (eds.),Contemporary Perspectives in the Philosophy of Language, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, pp. 379–82.
Lombard, Lawrence: 1986,Events, Routledge and Kegan Paul, Boston.
Levin, Michael: 1976, ‘The Extensionality of Causation and Causal-Explanatory Contexts’,Philosophy of Science 43, 266–77.
Mackie, J. L.: 1974,The Cement of the Universe, Oxford University Press, New York.
Parsons, Terence: 1988, ‘Underlying States in the Semantical Analysis of English’,Proceedings of the Arisotelian Society, n.s.88, 13–30.
Peterson, Philip L.: 1981, ‘What Causes Effects?’,Philosophical Studies 39, 107–39.
Peterson, Philip L.: 1989, ‘Complex Events’,Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 70, 19–41.
Quine, Willard Van Orman: 1961, ‘Reference and Modality’, inFrom a Logical Point of View, 2nd ed., Harper and Row, New York, pp. 139–59.
Sanford, David: 1985, ‘Causal Relata’, in Ernest LePore and Brian McLaughlin (eds.),Actions and Events: Perspectives on the Philosophy of Donald Davidson, Basil Blackwell, New York, pp. 282–93.
Stern, Cindy D.: 1982, ‘Logical Features of Reference to Facts’,Philosophical Studies 41, 197–211.
Stern, Cindy D.: 1988, ‘The Prospects for Elimination of Event-Talk’,Philosophical Studies 54, 43–62.
Stern, Cindy D.: 1989, ‘Paraphrase and Parsimony’,Metaphilosophy 20, 34–42.
Taylor, Barry: 1976, ‘States of Affairs’, in Gareth Evans and John McDowell (eds.),Truth and Meaning: Essays in Semantics, Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 263–84.
Tooley, Michael: 1977, ‘The Nature of Laws’,Canadian Journal of Philosophy 7, 667–98.
Tooley, Michael: 1987,Causation: A Realist Approach, Oxford University Press, New York.
Vendler, Zeno: 1967,Linguistics in Philosophy, Cornell University Press, Ithaca.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Stern, C.D. Semantic emphasis in causal sentences. Synthese 95, 379–418 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01063879
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01063879