A previous post mentioned the notion of distinctions within causation (or among causal claims). The general idea is that a relationship can satisfy a minimal “interventionist” condition for causation (in the sense that X can be related to Y in such a way that some interventions on X are associated with a change …
As explained in the previous post, one very rich area of inquiry concerns the extent to which normative theories of causal reasoning, from both philosophy and elsewhere, successfully characterize how, as an empirical matter, various sorts of subjects (adults, children, non-human animals) reason. This has been explored by psychologists and other researchers …
How should philosophers (and others) approach the topic of causation and causal reasoning? Causation with a Human Face (CHF) proposes an approach that brings together results from a number of different disciplines, both descriptive ( e.g., the empirical psychology of causal cognition) and normative (statistics, econometrics, machine learning, philosophy). The guiding idea is that causal …
Dustin Stokes Again I want to thank Becko, Jonna, and John. I truly respect their research and it’s flattering that they each took the time to read the book and offer such insightful commentary. It has given me a lot to think about. The comments are distinctive, each taking up …
John Zeimbekis It’s a relief to see a new book about how perception interacts with thought. Decades of work on modularity and other distinguishing traits of perception (perception as nonconceptual, analog, iconic, unstructured) leave us with a picture of thought as informationally separate from perception, but few suggestions about how …
Jonna Vance (she/her) Northern Arizona University jonnavance.com [Note: All citations are to Stokes (2021) Thinking and Perceiving (Routledge), unless otherwise noted.] In the final few chapters of Thinking and Perceiving, Stokes turns to perceptual expertise: an enhanced capacity for perceptual recognition or discrimination. In Chapter 6, Stokes offers a pluralistic …
Becko Copenhaver Washington University, St. Louis “We are, all of us, potential perceptual experts.” (Dustin Stokes, Thinking and Perceiving, p. 234) I’m grateful to discuss Dustin’s Thinking and Perceiving. I agree with him so much, about so much, that I hope our points of departure will be revealing. For example, …
