Single Case Causes: What is Evidence and Why

Cartwright, N.

Abstract

How do we establish singular causal claims? It seems we do this all the time, from courtrooms to cloud chambers. Nevertheless, there is a strong lobby in the evidence-based medicine and policy movements that argues that we cannot make reliable causal judgments about single cases in these areas. So we cannot tell whether a policy or treatment ‘worked’ for any specific individual. This paper argues the contrary. It provides a catalogue of evidence types that can support singular causal claims, and it develops a theoretical framework that shows that these types are evidence for causation in the single case.

Citation

Cartwright, N. (2016). Single Case Causes: What is Evidence and Why. In H. Chao, & J. Reiss (Eds.), Philosophy of science in practice : Nancy Cartwright and the nature of scientific reasoning (11-24). Springer Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45532-7_2

• Online Publication Date: Dec 28, 2016
• Publication Date: Dec 28, 2016
• Deposit Date: Sep 15, 2015
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Pages: 11-24
• Series Title: Synthese library : studies in epistemology, logic, methodology, and philosophy of science
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Book Title: Philosophy of science in practice : Nancy Cartwright and the nature of scientific reasoning.
• ISBN: 9783319455303
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45532-7_2
• Additional Information: Also Durham University: CHESS Working Paper No. 2015-02.