Q&A: The Principle of Causality
The Principle of Causality
Question
Hello Michi,
I wanted to ask about the principle of causality.
Many philosophers, as is well known, argued that the principle of causality does not arise from experience but from reason, and therefore should apply in every situation and place. And if so, they project this onto the first cause of the universe and the laws of nature, etc., and arrive at God…
But how do we really know that causality is an intuition that comes from reason and was not learned from experience? What is the evidence for that?
And perhaps one could say that in normal reality we always look for causality, but the moment reality departs from the norm (quantum physics / the creation of the world, etc.), the principle of causality already breaks down and does not necessarily exist, and therefore one can suppose that not everything necessarily has a cause. Maybe in the creation of the world a reality was created that sustains the laws of nature without causality…
If, for example, causality does not appear in quantum physics, doesn't that show that there are things that deviate from normal reality and have no cause? So why should we assume that in the state of the creation of the world (an exceptional reality, with no laws known to us at all) the principle of causality existed?!
And one final question to understand the issue: in the world of science/philosophy, is it accepted that in quantum physics there is a cause, but we simply have not identified it yet?
Thanks in advance — I would be very happy if you could help me make sense of this confusing issue!
Answer
A strange question. How do we know that principle X does not arise from experience? Simply because it does not arise from experience. There is no way to learn it from experience. The question should be: how do we know that it is learned from experience?
In quantum theory there is causality, but it is different. Even if one accepts the interpretations according to which there is no causality there in the sense of hidden variables, the quantum character of the universe is itself a cause of the quantum events. In an empty world devoid of structure and laws, nothing like this would happen.
Discussion on Answer
What is there to understand here? You are the one who needs to explain how it arises from experience. You will not succeed in doing that.
As for the quantum character too, I already explained it. What is unclear?
Seemingly, it is impossible to prove that it arises from experience, and impossible to prove that it does not arise from experience. Experience can only teach us that certain events happen adjacent to other events. Causality itself we never see directly; we only infer it. And based on that, supposedly, we cannot know whether it really exists — not only in the creation of the world or in the quantum realm, but also in our world. And if so, what is the default assumption?
You are writing one thing and its opposite. Just now you showed that it does not arise from experience, but you opened by saying that it cannot be proven either way.
The intuition of each of us points to the principle of causality. What the basis of that intuition is, is a broad question, and I have written quite a bit about it. But whatever it may be, you have to ask yourself whether you accept that intuition or not. If yes, then for you the principle of causality is correct even though it does not emerge from empirical observation. That is the starting point of one who accepts this intuition, and that is all of us, of course. Someone who denies this is usually either a liar or someone who is not self-aware. That's all. As for quantum physics, I explained above.
I am done and will not answer further, unless there is something new here. For now, we are repeating ourselves.
Forgive my lack of understanding, but how can one really know that it does not arise from experience? I can't manage to understand…
Regarding quantum physics, what do you mean by "the quantum character is itself a cause"?