Are There Really Social Causes?. Issue 2 (March 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Faller, August
• Other Names: Henderson David guest-editor.; Khalifa Kareem guest-editor.; Risjord Mark guest-editor.; Roth Paul guest-editor.; Tollefsen Deborah guest-editor.; Turner Stephen guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Philosophy of the social sciences. Volume 53:Issue 2(2023)
• Page Start: 83
• Page End: 102
• Publication Date: 2023-03
• Subjects: Causation -- social ontology -- powers -- holism; Social sciences -- Periodicals; Social sciences -- Methodology -- Periodicals; Sciences sociales -- Périodiques; Sciences sociales -- Méthodologie -- Périodiques; 300.1
• DOI: 10.1177/00483931221150485
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0048-3931

Abstract

This article investigates the causal efficacy of social properties, which faces the following puzzle. First, for both intuitive and scientific reasons, it seems social properties have causal import. But, second, social properties are also characteristically extrinsic: to have some social property depends, in typical cases, on what one's society is like around them. And, third, there is good reason to doubt that extrinsic properties make a genuine causal contribution. After elaborating on these three claims, I defend the following resolution to the puzzle: social causation occurs at the level at which social properties are intrinsic.