Conjunction, succession, determination and causation

Abstract

The principles of regular (invariable or stochastic) conjunction, of retarded action, determination, and causality, are stated exactly and analyzed. To this end, the concepts of system, property, state, and event, as well as those of conjunction (of events and of properties) are first elucidated. Four types of determination are distinguished and analyzed and it is shown that only one of them qualifies as a causal nexus, the others being deterministic (in the large sense) but noncausal. The overall conclusion is that, while the principles of regular conjunction, retarded action and determination are both distinct and universal, the causal principle is just a restricted version of the principle of determinacy.