The Origin and Resolution of Ambiguities in Causal Arguments

Abstract

The causal arguments that people typically use to explain the behavior of physical systems contain ambiguities and hidden assumptions which result from imposing a particular point of view on the behavior of the system. The causality of such an argument is an artifact of imposing this point of view. Usually there exist other equally “valid” but conflicting arguments based on the same evidence. The inherent local nature of causal arguments makes it impossible for them to capture the more global effects that are needed to resolve these ambiguities. However, their local nature makes causal arguments computationally simple to construct. This paper discusses these ideas in the context of electronics after first presenting a general theory of causal arguments. The causal rules that electrical engineers appear to use to reason about circuits are presented, and their use in constructing causal arguments for circuit behavior is discussed.