====== Causality ======
Describes a //cause-effect// relationship between two events or phenomena, i.e. that one is caused by the other.
> A short circuit in an electrical appliance caused the house fire.
It is important to distinguish the concept of causality from that of //correlation//, which refers to the co-occurrence of events or phenomena but does //not// imply a causal relationship.
===== Description =====
As a general rule, when phenomena 𝚨 and 𝐁 occur in correlation (i.e. either simultaneously or consecutively), the following possibilities must be considered:
- 𝚨 causes 𝐁 (//direct// causal relationship). \\
- 𝐁 causes 𝚨 (//reverse// causal relationship). \\
- A third event 𝐂 causes both 𝚨 and 𝐁 (//external// causal relationship). \\
- 𝚨 causes other events: e.g. 𝐂, 𝐃, etc, which in turn cause 𝐁 (//indirect// causal relationship). \\
- 𝚨 and 𝐁 are //not// causally connected, but only occur together by chance ([[:mathematics:statistics:misinterpretations:spurious correlation|spurious correlation]]). \\
- 𝚨 and/or 𝐁 are observational errors and at least one of the phenomena does not occur at all in the form described (e.g. [[:psychology:kognitive_biases:frequency_illusion|frequency illusion]], [[:mathematics:statistics:misinterpretations:base-rate fallacy|base-rate fallacy]], etc.)
The fact that 𝚨 and 𝐁 //correlate// with each other, i.e. that they regularly occur together, is not sufficient to postulate a causal relationship.
However, the question of //when// a causal relationship actually exists is rather difficult to answer. Ultimately, different scientific fields have come up with various different – in some cases even contradictory – definitions of causality. These may be more (e.g. in [[wp>Physics|physics]]) or less strict (e.g. in the [[wp>Social science|social sciences]]), but they usually contain at least the following minimum requirements:
- A **high correlation** of the properties. \\
- A **plausible mechanism** of effect. \\
- A comprehensible **chronological sequence** of events.
It should however be noted that for each of these criteria there are also problem cases and exceptions.
===== See also =====
* [[:mathematics:statistics:misinterpretations:spurious correlation|Spurious correlation]]
* [[:psychology:kognitive_biases:causal_illusion|Causal illusion]]
===== More information =====
* [[wp>Causality]] on //Wikipedia//
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