Towards a General Framework for Actual Causation Using CP-logic

TL;DR

This paper introduces a unified, abstract framework for actual causation using CP-logic, enabling comparison and extension of existing definitions to handle diverse and non-deterministic causal instances.

Contribution

It provides a general formal definition of actual causation in CP-logic and demonstrates how existing definitions can be unified and extended within this framework.

Findings

Unified framework for actual causation in CP-logic

Comparison of multiple causation definitions within a single model

Extension of causation concepts to non-deterministic cases

Abstract

Since Pearl's seminal work on providing a formal language for causality, the subject has garnered a lot of interest among philosophers and researchers in artificial intelligence alike. One of the most debated topics in this context regards the notion of actual causation, which concerns itself with specific - as opposed to general - causal claims. The search for a proper formal definition of actual causation has evolved into a controversial debate, that is pervaded with ambiguities and confusion. The goal of our research is twofold. First, we wish to provide a clear way to compare competing definitions. Second, we also want to improve upon these definitions so they can be applied to a more diverse range of instances, including non-deterministic ones. To achieve these goals we will provide a general, abstract definition of actual causation, formulated in the context of the expressive language of CP-logic (Causal Probabilistic logic). We will then show that three recent definitions by Ned Hall (originally formulated for structural models) and a definition of our own (formulated for CP-logic directly) can be viewed and directly compared as instantiations of this abstract definition, which allows them to deal with a broader range of examples.