Philosophy Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
| |||
|
| |||
| Causality: causality is the relation between two (separate) entities, whereby a state change of the one entity causes the state of the other entity to change. Nowadays it is assumed that an energy transfer is crucial for talking about a causal link. D. Hume was the first to consistently deny the observability of cause and effect. (David Hume Eine Untersuchung über den menschlichen Verstand, Hamburg, 1993, p. 95). _____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
| Author | Concept | Summary/Quotes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Marvin Minsky on Causality - Dictionary of Arguments
Minsky I 48 Circularity/circular causality/Minsky: Two goals can support each other: A causes B John wanted to go home because he felt tired of work. B causes A John felt tired of work because he wanted to go home. There need be no first cause (…). Then a loop of circular causality ensues, in which each goal gains support from the other until their combined urge becomes irresistible. We're always enmeshed in causal loops. Suppose you had borrowed past your means and later had to borrow more in order to pay the interest on your loan. If you were asked what the difficulty was, it would not be enough to say simply, Because I have to pay the interest, or to say only, Because I have to pay the principal. Neither alone is the actual cause, and you'd have to explain that you're caught in a loop. >Circular reasoning, >Explanation, >Actions. There are countless different types of networks that contain loops. But all networks that contain no loops are basically the same: each has the form of a simple chain. >Networks, >Neural Networks, >Artificial Neural Networks. Minsky I 49 Unanswerable questions: What caused the universe, and why? How can you tell which beliefs are true? What is the purpose of life? How can you tell what is good? >Cosmology. These questions seem different on the surface, but all of them share one quality that makes them impossible to answer: all of them are circular! But when thinking keeps returning to its source, it doesn't always mean something's wrong. For circular thinking can lead to growth when it results, at each return, in deeper and more powerful ideas._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Minsky I Marvin Minsky The Society of Mind New York 1985 Minsky II Marvin Minsky Semantic Information Processing Cambridge, MA 2003 |
||
Ed. Martin Schulz, access date 2024-04-18