Causing is Achieving -- A solution to the problem of causation (2307.07517v1)

Abstract: From the standpoint of applied ontology, the problem of understanding and modeling causation has been recently challenged on the premise that causation is real. As a consequence, the following three results were obtained: (1) causation can be understood via the notion of systemic function; (2) any cause can be decomposed using only four subfunctions, namely Achieves, Prevents, Allows, and Disallows; and (3) the last three subfunctions can be defined in terms of Achieves alone. It follows that the essence of causation lies in a single function, namely Achieves. It remains to elucidate the nature of the Achieves function, which has been elaborated only partially in the previous work. In this paper, we first discuss a couple of underlying policies in the above-mentioned causal theory since these are useful in the discussion, then summarize the results obtained in the former paper, and finally reveal the nature of Achieves giving a complete solution to the problem of what causation is.