1,156
Views
135
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Activities and Causation: The Metaphysics and Epistemology of Mechanisms

Pages 27-39 | Published online: 14 Oct 2010

Keep up to date with the latest research on this topic with citation updates for this article.

Read on this site (8)

Jihyun Chakrin & Todd Campbell. (2022) Preservice science teachers’ epistemological framing in their early teaching. Journal of the Learning Sciences 31:4-5, pages 545-593.
Read now
Derek Beach. (2016) It's all about mechanisms – what process-tracing case studies should be tracing. New Political Economy 21:5, pages 463-472.
Read now
Alexander Reutlinger & Holly Andersen. (2016) Abstract versus Causal Explanations?. International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 30:2, pages 129-146.
Read now
Tudor M. Baetu. (2013) Chance, Experimental Reproducibility, and Mechanistic Regularity. International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 27:3, pages 253-271.
Read now
Raffaella Campaner & Maria Carla Galavotti. (2012) Evidence and the Assessment of Causal Relations in the Health Sciences. International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 26:1, pages 27-45.
Read now
Ulrich Krohs. (2008) How Digital Computer Simulations Explain Real‐World Processes. International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 22:3, pages 277-292.
Read now
Jonathan Waskan. (2008) Knowledge of Counterfactual Interventions through Cognitive Models of Mechanisms. International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 22:3, pages 259-275.
Read now
James Woodward . (2004) Counterfactuals and Causal Explanation. International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 18:1, pages 41-72.
Read now

Articles from other publishers (127)

Maximilian Schiffers & Sandra Plümer. (2024) Identifying causal mechanisms of unexpected policy change: Accumulated punctuation in the field of lobbying transparency in Germany. European Policy Analysis.
Crossref
Stuart Glennan. (2022) The Object-Activity Theory of Events. Erkenntnis 89:2, pages 503-519.
Crossref
Kalewold Hailu Kalewold. (2024) The hybrid account of activities. Synthese 203:1.
Crossref
Michał Oleksowicz. (2023) Metaphysical Causal Pluralism: What Are New Mechanists Pluralistic About?. Philosophia 51:5, pages 2457-2478.
Crossref
Russell Meyer. (2022) An explanatory taste for mechanisms. Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences 22:4, pages 821-840.
Crossref
Joe Dewhurst & Alistair. M. C. Isaac. (2021) The Ups and Downs of Mechanism Realism: Functions, Levels, and Crosscutting Hierarchies. Erkenntnis 88:3, pages 1035-1057.
Crossref
Guillaume Fontaine, Alejandro Hernández-Luis, Taymi Milán & Carlos Rodrigues de CairesGuillaume Fontaine, Alejandro Hernández-Luis, Taymi Milán & Carlos Rodrigues de Caires. 2023. Tackling Corruption in Latin America. Tackling Corruption in Latin America 13 34 .
Matej KohárMatej Kohár. 2023. Neural Machines: A Defense of Non-Representationalism in Cognitive Neuroscience. Neural Machines: A Defense of Non-Representationalism in Cognitive Neuroscience 7 29 .
Isaac Ariail ReedCarly R. Knight & Isaac Ariail Reed. 2023. Sociology as a Human Science. Sociology as a Human Science 157 191 .
Priscilla Álamos-Concha, Valérie Pattyn, Benoît Rihoux, Benjamin Schalembier, Derek Beach & Bart Cambré. (2021) Conservative solutions for progress: on solution types when combining QCA with in-depth Process-Tracing. Quality & Quantity 56:4, pages 1965-1997.
Crossref
Raffaella CampanerRaffaella Campaner. 2022. Explaining Disease: Philosophical Reflections on Medical Research and Clinical Practice. Explaining Disease: Philosophical Reflections on Medical Research and Clinical Practice 19 43 .
Kolja EhrensteinKolja Ehrenstein. 2022. Causal Pluralism in the Life Sciences. Causal Pluralism in the Life Sciences 61 84 .
William Bechtel & Andrew Bollhagen. (2021) Active biological mechanisms: transforming energy into motion in molecular motors. Synthese 199:5-6, pages 12705-12729.
Crossref
Derek Beach. (2021) Evidential pluralism and evidence of mechanisms in the social sciences. Synthese 199:3-4, pages 8899-8919.
Crossref
John Mingers. (2020) Thoughts on Siponen and Klaarvuniemi’s ‘Demystifying Beliefs about the Natural Sciences in IS’: The way forward. Journal of Information Technology 36:1, pages 81-84.
Crossref
Bryon Cunningham. (2021) A prototypical conceptualization of mechanisms. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 85, pages 79-91.
Crossref
Michele Paolini Paoletti. (2018) Mechanisms and Relations. Erkenntnis 86:1, pages 95-111.
Crossref
Katelyn E. Kurkul, Eleanor Castine, Kathryn Leech & Kathleen H. Corriveau. (2021) How does a switch work? The relation between adult mechanistic language and children's learning. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 72, pages 101221.
Crossref
Michael Silberstein. 2021. Neural Mechanisms. Neural Mechanisms 363 393 .
Lena Kästner. 2021. Neural Mechanisms. Neural Mechanisms 337 361 .
Jason Winning. (2020) Mechanistic Causation and Constraints: Perspectival Parts and Powers, Non-perspectival Modal Patterns. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 71:4, pages 1385-1409.
Crossref
Beate Krickel. (2020) Reply to Cartwright, Pemberton, Wieten: “mechanisms, laws and explanation”. European Journal for Philosophy of Science 10:3.
Crossref
Saúl Pérez-González. (2020) Mechanistic explanations and components of social mechanisms. European Journal for Philosophy of Science 10:3.
Crossref
Jeff Scales. (2020) A design science research approach to closing the gap between the research and practice of project scheduling. Systems Research and Behavioral Science 37:5, pages 804-812.
Crossref
Kalewold Hailu Kalewold. (2020) Race and medicine in light of the new mechanistic philosophy of science. Biology & Philosophy 35:4.
Crossref
Derek Beach & Jonas Gejl Kaas. (2020) The Great Divides: Incommensurability, the Impossibility of Mixed-Methodology, and What to Do about It. International Studies Review 22:2, pages 214-235.
Crossref
Derek Beach. (2019) Multi-Method Research in the Social Sciences: A Review of Recent Frameworks and a Way Forward. Government and Opposition 55:1, pages 163-182.
Crossref
Derek Beach. 2020. Handbuch Methoden der Politikwissenschaft. Handbuch Methoden der Politikwissenschaft 699 719 .
Elena Rocca, Rani Lill Anjum & Stephen Mumford. 2020. Uncertainty in Pharmacology. Uncertainty in Pharmacology 39 57 .
Guillaume Fontaine, Cecilia Medrano Caviedes & Iván NarváezGuillaume Fontaine, Cecilia Medrano Caviedes & Iván Narváez. 2020. The Politics of Public Accountability. The Politics of Public Accountability 51 98 .
Felix Tretter & Henriette Löffler-Stastka. (2019) Medical knowledge integration and “systems medicine”: Needs, ambitions, limitations and options. Medical Hypotheses 133, pages 109386.
Crossref
Tudor Baetu. 2019. Mechanisms in Molecular Biology. Mechanisms in Molecular Biology.
Elaine Wilson & Assel Sharimova. (2019) Conceptualizing the implementation of Lesson Study in Kazakhstan within a social theory framework. International Journal for Lesson and Learning Studies 8:4, pages 320-333.
Crossref
Carly R. Knight & Isaac Ariail Reed. (2019) Meaning and Modularity: The Multivalence of “Mechanism” in Sociological Explanation. Sociological Theory 37:3, pages 234-256.
Crossref
Travis Dumsday. 2019. Dispositionalism and the Metaphysics of Science. Dispositionalism and the Metaphysics of Science.
Amy D. Robertson, Lane Seeley, Orlala T. Wentink & Stamatis Vokos. (2019) Taking teachers' ideas seriously: Exploring the role of physics faculty in preparing teachers in the era of the Next Generation Science Standards. American Journal of Physics 87:1, pages 57-68.
Crossref
Rafael González del Solar, Luis Marone & Javier Lopez de Casenave. 2019. Mario Bunge: A Centenary Festschrift. Mario Bunge: A Centenary Festschrift 555 573 .
Leonardo Ivarola. 2019. Mario Bunge: A Centenary Festschrift. Mario Bunge: A Centenary Festschrift 397 414 .
Derek Beach & Rasmus Brun Pedersen. (2016) Selecting Appropriate Cases When Tracing Causal Mechanisms. Sociological Methods & Research 47:4, pages 837-871.
Crossref
Jason Winning & William Bechtel. (2018) Rethinking Causality in Biological and Neural Mechanisms: Constraints and Control. Minds and Machines 28:2, pages 287-310.
Crossref
Jennifer S. Jhun. (2022) What’s the Point of Ceteris Paribus? or, How to Understand Supply and Demand Curves. Philosophy of Science 85:2, pages 271-292.
Crossref
Lindley Darden. (2017) The mechanical philosophy, mechanisms, and values. Metascience 27:1, pages 55-58.
Crossref
Derek Beach. (2017) Achieving Methodological Alignment When Combining QCA and Process tracing in Practice. Sociological Methods & Research 47:1, pages 64-99.
Crossref
Ingo Rohlfing & Carsten Q. Schneider. (2016) A Unifying Framework for Causal Analysis in Set-Theoretic Multimethod Research. Sociological Methods & Research 47:1, pages 37-63.
Crossref
Marie Darrason. (2015) Mechanistic and topological explanations in medicine: the case of medical genetics and network medicine. Synthese 195:1, pages 147-173.
Crossref
Derek Beach. 2018. Handbuch Methoden der Politikwissenschaft. Handbuch Methoden der Politikwissenschaft 1 21 .
Beate KrickelBeate Krickel. 2018. The Mechanical World. The Mechanical World 129 153 .
Beate KrickelBeate Krickel. 2018. The Mechanical World. The Mechanical World 69 93 .
Beate KrickelBeate Krickel. 2018. The Mechanical World. The Mechanical World 1 15 .
Daniel C. Burnston. (2022) Real Patterns in Biological Explanation. Philosophy of Science 84:5, pages 879-891.
Crossref
Patrick Thaddeus Jackson. (2017) Causal claims and causal explanation in international studies. Journal of International Relations and Development 20:4, pages 689-716.
Crossref
Marie I. Kaiser & Beate Krickel. (2017) The Metaphysics of Constitutive Mechanistic Phenomena. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 68:3, pages 745-779.
Crossref
John Mingers & Craig Standing. (2017) Why things happen – Developing the critical realist view of causal mechanisms. Information and Organization 27:3, pages 171-189.
Crossref
Beate Krickel. (2017) A Regularist Approach to Mechanistic Type-Level Explanation. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science.
Crossref
Hsiao-Fan YEH & Ruey-Lin CHEN. (2017) An Experiment-based Methodology for Classical Genetics and Molecular Biology. Annals of the Japan Association for Philosophy of Science 26:0, pages 39-60.
Crossref
Alex Gomez-Marin. 2017. Decoding Neural Circuit Structure and Function. Decoding Neural Circuit Structure and Function 283 306 .
Yf Reykers & Derek Beach. 2017. The Principal Agent Model and the European Union. The Principal Agent Model and the European Union 255 281 .
Gualtiero Piccinini. 2017. Eppur si muove: Doing History and Philosophy of Science with Peter Machamer. Eppur si muove: Doing History and Philosophy of Science with Peter Machamer 171 182 .
Amparo G?mez. 2017. Varieties of Scientific Realism. Varieties of Scientific Realism 367 383 .
Ruey-Lin Chen. 2017. Philosophy of Science in Practice. Philosophy of Science in Practice 127 145 .
Jonathan Y Tsou. (2016) Natural kinds, psychiatric classification and the history of the DSM . History of Psychiatry 27:4, pages 406-424.
Crossref
Amy D. Robertson & Peter S. Shaffer. (2016) University student reasoning about the basic tenets of kinetic-molecular theory, Part II: Pressure of an ideal gas. American Journal of Physics 84:10, pages 795-809.
Crossref
Tudor M. Baetu. (2015) From interventions to mechanistic explanations. Synthese 193:10, pages 3311-3327.
Crossref
Carsten Q. Schneider & Ingo Rohlfing. (2014) Case Studies Nested in Fuzzy-set QCA on Sufficiency. Sociological Methods & Research 45:3, pages 526-568.
Crossref
Lane DesAutels. (2016) Natural selection and mechanistic regularity. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 57, pages 13-23.
Crossref
Daniel C. Burnston. (2016) Data graphs and mechanistic explanation. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 57, pages 1-12.
Crossref
Lucas J. Matthews. (2016) On closing the gap between philosophical concepts and their usage in scientific practice: A lesson from the debate about natural selection as mechanism. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 55, pages 21-28.
Crossref
L. R. Franklin-Hall. 2016. Scientific Composition and Metaphysical Ground. Scientific Composition and Metaphysical Ground 41 74 .
Martin Diewald, Tina Baier, Wiebke Schulz & Reinhard Schunck. 2016. Social Demography Forschung an der Schnittstelle von Soziologie und Demografie. Social Demography Forschung an der Schnittstelle von Soziologie und Demografie 371 395 .
Juan A. Barceló & Florencia Del Castillo. 2016. Simulating Prehistoric and Ancient Worlds. Simulating Prehistoric and Ancient Worlds 1 140 .
Johannes Schmitt & Derek Beach. (2015) The contribution of process tracing to theory-based evaluations of complex aid instruments. Evaluation 21:4, pages 429-447.
Crossref
. (2015) The "new mechanistic philosophy" and michael polanyi: a comparison of two paradigms. EPISTEMOLOGIA:1, pages 114-132.
Crossref
Martin Diewald, Tina Baier, Wiebke Schulz & Reinhard Schunck. (2015) Status Attainment and Social MobilityStatus Attainment und Soziale Mobilität. KZfSS Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie 67:S1, pages 371-395.
Crossref
Rachel E. Scherr & Amy D. Robertson. (2015) Productivity of “collisions generate heat” for reconciling an energy model with mechanistic reasoning: A case study. Physical Review Special Topics - Physics Education Research 11:1.
Crossref
Pierre-Alain Braillard & Christophe MalaterreFrédérique Théry. 2015. Explanation in Biology. Explanation in Biology 113 133 .
Pierre-Alain Braillard & Christophe MalaterreConstantinos Mekios. 2015. Explanation in Biology. Explanation in Biology 47 72 .
Jonathan Y. Tsou. 2015. The DSM-5 in Perspective. The DSM-5 in Perspective 43 62 .
Rainer Schützeichel. 2015. Prozesse. Prozesse 87 147 .
Philip S. Gorski. 2015. Generative Mechanisms Transforming the Social Order. Generative Mechanisms Transforming the Social Order 27 48 .
Ingo Rohlfing. (2013) Comparative Hypothesis Testing Via Process Tracing. Sociological Methods & Research 43:4, pages 606-642.
Crossref
Meinard Kuhlmann & Stuart Glennan. (2014) On the relation between quantum mechanical and neo-mechanistic ontologies and explanatory strategies. European Journal for Philosophy of Science 4:3, pages 337-359.
Crossref
James G. Lennox. (2014) Aristotle on the Emergence of Material Complexity: Meteorology IV and Aristotle’s Biology . HOPOS: The Journal of the International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science 4:2, pages 272-305.
Crossref
Matteo Colombo. (2014) Neural representationalism, the Hard Problem of Content and vitiated verdicts. A reply to Hutto & Myin (2013). Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences 13:2, pages 257-274.
Crossref
Alexander Mebius. (2014) A weakened mechanism is still a mechanism: On the causal role of absences in mechanistic explanation. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 45, pages 43-48.
Crossref
Gary J. Buttriss & Ian F. Wilkinson. (2021) Pinpointing the Deeper Structures, Processes and Mechanisms of Change within Interactional Fields. Australasian Marketing Journal 22:1, pages 45-50.
Crossref
Carrie Figdor. 2014. New Waves in Philosophy of Mind. New Waves in Philosophy of Mind 38 53 .
Nir FrescoNir Fresco. 2014. Physical Computation and Cognitive Science. Physical Computation and Cognitive Science 197 229 .
Phyllis Illari. (2013) Mechanistic Explanation: Integrating the Ontic and Epistemic. Erkenntnis 78:S2, pages 237-255.
Crossref
Jonathan Y. Tsou. (2013) Depression and suicide are natural kinds: Implications for physician-assisted suicide. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 36:5-6, pages 461-470.
Crossref
Jeremy Howick, Paul Glasziou & Jeffrey K. Aronson. (2013) Problems with using mechanisms to solve the problem of extrapolation. Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics 34:4, pages 275-291.
Crossref
Phyllis Illari & Jon Williamson. (2013) In Defence of Activities. Journal for General Philosophy of Science 44:1, pages 69-83.
Crossref
Giovanni Boniolo. (2012) On Molecular Mechanisms and Contexts of Physical Explanation. Biological Theory 7:3, pages 256-265.
Crossref
Arnon Levy. (2012) Three kinds of new mechanism. Biology & Philosophy 28:1, pages 99-114.
Crossref
Carl F. Craver & Marie I. Kaiser. 2013. Mechanism and Causality in Biology and Economics. Mechanism and Causality in Biology and Economics 125 145 .
Lindley Darden. 2013. Mechanism and Causality in Biology and Economics. Mechanism and Causality in Biology and Economics 19 34 .
François Claveau. (2012) The Russo–Williamson Theses in the social sciences: Causal inference drawing on two types of evidence. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 43:4, pages 806-813.
Crossref
Holly Andersen. (2011) The case for regularity in mechanistic causal explanation. Synthese 189:3, pages 415-432.
Crossref
Nir Fresco. (2012) The Explanatory Role of Computation in Cognitive Science. Minds and Machines 22:4, pages 353-380.
Crossref
Cory D. Wright. (2012) Mechanistic explanation without the ontic conception. European Journal for Philosophy of Science 2:3, pages 375-394.
Crossref
Patrice Soom. (2012) Mechanisms, determination and the metaphysics of neuroscience. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 43:3, pages 655-664.
Crossref
Peter Machamer & Lisa Osbeck. 2012. Perception, Realism, and the Problem of Reference. Perception, Realism, and the Problem of Reference 142 160 .
TRAVIS DUMSDAY. (2012) DISPOSITIONS, PRIMITIVE ACTIVITIES, AND ESSENTIALLY ACTIVE OBJECTS. Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 93:1, pages 43-64.
Crossref
Daniel J. Nicholson. (2012) The concept of mechanism in biology. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 43:1, pages 152-163.
Crossref
Phyllis McKay Illari & Jon Williamson. (2011) What is a mechanism? Thinking about mechanisms across the sciences. European Journal for Philosophy of Science 2:1, pages 119-135.
Crossref
Lane DesAutels. (2022) Against Regular and Irregular Characterizations of Mechanisms. Philosophy of Science 78:5, pages 914-925.
Crossref
Cyrille Imbert. (2012) Explication et pertinence : du sel ensorcelé à la loi des aires. Dialogue 50:4, pages 689-723.
Crossref
Daniel A. Weiskopf. (2011) Models and mechanisms in psychological explanation. Synthese 183:3, pages 313-338.
Crossref
Jonathan Waskan. (2011) Mechanistic explanation at the limit. Synthese 183:3, pages 389-408.
Crossref
Jon Williamson. (2011) Mechanistic Theories of Causality Part II. Philosophy Compass 6:6, pages 433-444.
Crossref
Federica Russo. (2011) Correlational Data, Causal Hypotheses, and Validity. Journal for General Philosophy of Science 42:1, pages 85-107.
Crossref
Jeremy Howick. 2011. The Philosophy of Evidence‐Based Medicine. The Philosophy of Evidence‐Based Medicine 193 223 .
Holly K. Andersen. (2022) Mechanisms, Laws, and Regularities. Philosophy of Science 78:2, pages 325-331.
Crossref
Raffaella Campaner. (2010) Understanding mechanisms in the health sciences. Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics 32:1, pages 5-17.
Crossref
GUALTIERO PICCININI. (2010) The Mind as Neural Software? Understanding Functionalism, Computationalism, and Computational Functionalism. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 81:2, pages 269-311.
Crossref
Phyllis McKay Illari & Jon Williamson. (2010) Function and organization: comparing the mechanisms of protein synthesis and natural selection. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 41:3, pages 279-291.
Crossref
Bert Leuridan. (2022) Can Mechanisms Really Replace Laws of Nature?. Philosophy of Science 77:3, pages 317-340.
Crossref
Johannes Persson. (2009) Activity-Based Accounts of Mechanism and the Threat of Polygenic Effects. Erkenntnis 72:1, pages 135-149.
Crossref
Ulrich Krohs. 2010. EPSA Philosophical Issues in the Sciences. EPSA Philosophical Issues in the Sciences 153 162 .
James Tabery. (2009) Difference mechanisms: explaining variation with mechanisms. Biology & Philosophy 24:5, pages 645-664.
Crossref
Phillip J. Torres. (2008) A Modified Conception of Mechanisms. Erkenntnis 71:2, pages 233-251.
Crossref
Rosemary S. Russ, Janet E. Coffey, David Hammer & Paul Hutchison. (2008) Making classroom assessment more accountable to scientific reasoning: A case for attending to mechanistic thinking. Science Education 93:5, pages 875-891.
Crossref
Johannes Persson. 2010. EPSA Epistemology and Methodology of Science. EPSA Epistemology and Methodology of Science 201 209 .
Kalle Pajunen. (2008) The Nature of Organizational Mechanisms. Organization Studies 29:11, pages 1449-1468.
Crossref
Lindley Darden. 2009. Reasoning in Biological Discoveries. Reasoning in Biological Discoveries 271 312 .
Lindley Darden. 2009. Reasoning in Biological Discoveries. Reasoning in Biological Discoveries 1 10 .
Patrick Thaddeus Jackson. (2015) Causal Claims and Causal Explanations in International Studies. SSRN Electronic Journal.
Crossref
Gualtiero Piccinini. (2010) The Mind as Neural Software? Understanding Functionalism, Computationalism, and Computational Functionalism. SSRN Electronic Journal.
Crossref

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.