Powers, dispositions, properties or a causal realist manifesto

Mumford, S.

Abstract

Particular objects and substances are causally powerful and causally responsive. They are able to do things and have things done to them. Dynamite is explosive: able to produce a dramatic bang, flash and flame when lit. A billiard ball is able to project other like objects when it strikes them and has sufficient momentum. Lysergic acid diethylamide is able to produce hallucinations in human beings but also able to turn litmus paper red.

Citation

Realism about Causality in Philosophy and Social Science (139 - 151). Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203932636

• Publication Date: 2007
• Deposit Date: Aug 20, 2019
• Pages: 139 - 151
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Book Title: Revitalizing Causality:; Realism about Causality in Philosophy and Social Science
• Chapter Number: 8
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203932636