Economics Dictionary of Arguments

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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).

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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

Daniel Dennett on Causality - Dictionary of Arguments

I 577ff
Two Black Boxes/Dennett: e.g. two black boxes: If you press the button "a" on box A, a red light goes on on box B. If you press button "b", a green light goes on. Apparently, the amber light never goes on. Inside box B there is a super computer. You will find that each step formed a clear causal chain without any secrets.
What is puzzling, however, is that the computer always gives the same result, but does not pass through the same sequence of intermediate steps. The box checks the beliefs of the other one. If they are the same: red, if not, green. Incomprehensible (e.g. manipulated) message: amber.
Declaration of the designers: It is an "expert system with trivial information" ("world experience").
The builders of the boxes insist, however, that there is no prospect to explore the causal rules with which the whole story started without using semantic concepts (or related to the mind).
>Cause/Dennett.
I 628
Reason/Darwin/causality/Dennett: Question: Can there be reasons which are recognized without being recognised by a conscious mind? Answer: Yes! The selection is the "blind watchmaker." (Dawkins) who still finds forced moves and other good tricks.


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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.

Dennett I
D. Dennett
Darwin’s Dangerous Idea, New York 1995
German Edition:
Darwins gefährliches Erbe Hamburg 1997

Dennett II
D. Dennett
Kinds of Minds, New York 1996
German Edition:
Spielarten des Geistes Gütersloh 1999

Dennett III
Daniel Dennett
"COG: Steps towards consciousness in robots"
In
Bewusstein, Thomas Metzinger, Paderborn/München/Wien/Zürich 1996

Dennett IV
Daniel Dennett
"Animal Consciousness. What Matters and Why?", in: D. C. Dennett, Brainchildren. Essays on Designing Minds, Cambridge/MA 1998, pp. 337-350
In
Der Geist der Tiere, D Perler/M. Wild, Frankfurt/M. 2005


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