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MENTAL CAUSATION
Our minds have physical effects. This happens, for instance, when we
move our bodies when we act. How is this possible? Thomas Kroedel
defendsanaccountofmentalcausationintermsofdifference-making:if
our minds had been different, the physical world would have been
different; therefore, the mind causes events in the physical world. His
accountnotonlyexplainshowthemindhasphysicaleffectsatall,but
solvestheexclusionproblem–theproblemofhowthoseeffectscanhave
both mental and physical causes. It is also unprecedented in scope,
becauseitisavailabletodualistsaboutthemindaswellasphysicalists,
drawingontraditionalviewsofcausationaswellasonthelatestdevelop-
mentsinthefieldofcausalmodelling.Itwillbeofinteresttoarangeof
readersinphilosophyofmindandphilosophyofscience.Thisbookisalso
availableasOpenAccessonCambridgeCore.
thomas kroedel is Professor of Philosophy of Science at the
UniversityofHamburg.Hehaspublishedarticlesinjournalsinclud-
ingAnalysis,NoûsandTheBritishJournalforthePhilosophyofScience.
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MENTAL CAUSATION
A Counterfactual Theory
THOMAS KROEDEL
UniversityofHamburg
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Contents
ListofFigures pagevi
Preface ix
Introduction 1
1 TheoriesoftheMindandTheoriesofCausation 13
2 MentalCausationbyCounterfactualDependence 60
3 MentalCausationbyCausalModelling 98
4 TheExclusionProblem 152
5 Conclusion 202
Appendix1 CounterfactualsandSpheres 204
Appendix2 ValidandInvalidInferenceRulesforCounterfactuals 207
References 208
Index 221
v
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Figures
0.1 Acollisionwithdifferentpossibleoutcomesdespite page9
conservationofmomentumandkineticenergy
1.1 Aneuroncaseofdoubleprevention 51
1.2 Aneuroncaseofdoublepreventionwithacounterfactual 51
supposition
1.3 Areal-lifecaseofdoubleprevention 52
1.4 Areal-lifecaseofdoublepreventionwithacounterfactual 52
supposition
1.5 Anintrinsicduplicateoftheneurondouble-preventioncase 54
1.6 Anintrinsicduplicateoftheneurondouble-preventioncase 54
withacounterfactualsupposition
2.1 LeiZhong’sargumentfordownwardcausationvsmy 79
argument
2.2 Twotypesofworldswithviolationsof(psycho-)physicallaws 85
2.3 Ageometricalillustrationofatruecounterfactual 89
2.4 Ageometricalillustrationofatruecounterfactualabout 89
physicaleventsandproperties
2.5 Ageometricalillustrationofcounterfactualsandspheres 89
2.6 Amisleadingpictureofsuper-nomologicalnecessity 90
2.7 Doublepreventioninmusclecontraction 93
2.8 Doublepreventioninmusclecontractionwith 93
acounterfactualsupposition
3.1 ThecausalgraphoftheLightningStrikeexample 107
3.2 Thecausalgraphofanearlypre-emptionexample 109
3.3 Thecausalgraphofamodelformentalcausation 115
3.4 Thecausalgraphofamodelrelevantforevaluating 116
mental-to-physicalcounterfactuals
3.5 Thecausalgraphofanomissionexample 120
3.6 Thecausalgraphofadouble-preventionexample 123
3.7 Thecausalgraphoftheelectrocutionexample 132
vi
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ListofFigures vii
3.8 Analternativecausalgraphoftheelectrocutionexample 136
3.9 Anotheralternativecausalgraphoftheelectrocutionexample 137
3.10 Yetanotheralternativecausalgraphoftheelectrocution 137
example
3.11 Thecausalgraphofanalternativemodelformentalcausation 145
3.12 Thecausalgraphofanotheralternativemodelformental 146
causation
3.13 Thecausalgraphofyetanotheralternativemodelformental 147
causation
4.1 Ageometricalillustrationofoverdeterminationwith 171
counterfactualdependence
4.2 Aneuroncaseofoverdetermination 174
4.3 Aneuroncaseofoverdeterminationwithacounterfactual 174
supposition
A.1 Ageometricalillustrationofcounterfactualsandspheres 205
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