{"product_id":"causation-explanation-and-the-metaphysics-of-aspect-9780198826965","title":"Causation, Explanation, and the Metaphysics of Aspect","description":"When you light a match it is the striking of it which causes the lighting; the presence of oxygen in the room is a background condition to the lighting. But in virtue of what is the striking a cause while the presence of oxygen is a background condition? When a fragile glass breaks it\u003cbr\u003emanifests a disposition to break when struck; however, not everything that breaks manifests this disposition. So under what conditions does something, in breaking, manifest fragility? After some therapy a man might stop being irascible and he might lose the disposition to become angry at the\u003cbr\u003eslightest provocation. If he does then he will have lost the disposition after an internal change. Can someone lose, or gain, a disposition merely as a result of a change in its external circumstances? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFacts about the structure of society can, it seems, explain other facts. But how do they do it? Are there different kinds of structural explanations? Many things are said to be causes: a rock, when we say that the rock caused the window to break, and an event, when we say that the striking of the\u003cbr\u003ewindow caused its breakage. Which kind of causation - causation by events, or causation by things - is more basic? In \u003cem\u003eCausation, Explanation, and the Metaphysics of Aspect\u003c\/em\u003e, Bradford Skow defends answers to these questions. His answers rely on a pair of connected distinctions: first is the\u003cbr\u003edistinction between acting, or doing something, and not acting; second is the distinction between situations in which an event happens, and situations in which instead something is in some state. The first distinction is used to draw the second: an event happens if and only if something does\u003cbr\u003esomething.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Bradford Skow\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press, USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/13\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 192\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.75lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.60h x 5.60w x 0.80d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780198826965\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/01\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBradford Skow\u003c\/strong\u003e is the Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Philosopy at MIT. He earned his BA from Oberlin College and his PhD from New York University. He is the author of \u003cem\u003eObjective Becoming\u003c\/em\u003e (OUP 2015) and \u003cem\u003eReasons Why\u003c\/em\u003e (OUP 2016).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Oxford University Press, USA","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":39932114403443,"sku":"9.78E+12","price":66.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/9255\/0515\/products\/img_2c316d7a-6c68-4bb5-8f3f-e21152b0e4df.jpg?v=1647790370","url":"https:\/\/bookstorenmore.com\/products\/causation-explanation-and-the-metaphysics-of-aspect-9780198826965","provider":"Bookstore N More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}