Daniel Little — Problems with causal mechanisms

There are a couple of problems with the theory of causal mechanisms that will be difficult to address. Jim Mahoney raises a general concern in "Beyond Correlational Analysis" -- there is no consensus about how to define a mechanism. But there are more specific problems as well.

Read it at Understanding Society
Problems with causal mechanisms
by Daniel Little

The around this pseudo-problem is to recognize that cause>effect is simply a way to indicate an irreversible direction of flow within a dynamic system instead of thinking in terms of the simplistic model of one "thing" causing another "thing." It is like mistaking language for labeling.