Week 13 - Post 3: Criteria for Cause & Effect

In chapter fifteen of Epstein’s Critical Thinking, the criteria for cause and effect relationships are thoroughly discussed. The example used in the book is that Spot’s barking is the reason Dick was woken up. I will use this example to explain these criteria. The first necessary criterion is, “The cause happened (the claim describing it is true).” Dick and his neighbor both agreed that Spot barked. Therefore, the cause happened, and the claim describing it was true. The second criterion is, “The effect happened (the claim describing it is true).” Clearly, Dick was woken up by the barking and wouldn’t lie about such an event. If he hadn’t been woken up, he would still be sleeping rather than arguing this point. The third criterion is, “The cause precedes the effect.” It is clear to see that Spot’s barking was the irregular factor that woke Dick up. Therefore, the fourth criterion, “It is (nearly) impossible for the cause to happen (be true) and the effect not to happen (be false), given the normal conditions,” would be true as well. The fifth criterion is, “The cause makes a difference – if the cause had not happened (been true), the effect would not have happened (been true).” Being as how Spot’s barking is loud and irregular, if it had not happened, Dick would not have been woken up at that time. The sixth criterion is, “There is no common cause.” Since there is no common factor that would cause Spot to bark and Dick to wake up, this criterion holds true as well. Because each of these criteria were truthfully met, it is safe to say that Spot’s barking was indeed the cause of Dick waking up.