ERIC Number: EJ1136516
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015-Feb
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0049-1241
EISSN: N/A
Causes of Effects and Effects of Causes
Pearl, Judea
Sociological Methods & Research, v44 n1 p149-164 Feb 2015
This article summarizes a conceptual framework and simple mathematical methods of estimating the probability that one event was a necessary cause of another, as interpreted by lawmakers. We show that the fusion of observational and experimental data can yield informative bounds that, under certain circumstances, meet legal criteria of causation. We further investigate the circumstances under which such bounds can emerge, and the philosophical dilemma associated with determining individual cases from statistical data.
Descriptors: Mathematical Models, Probability, Computation, Cognitive Mapping, Legal Problems, Data Processing, Observation, Maximum Likelihood Statistics, Educational Experiments, Evidence, Inferences
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF); Office of Naval Research (ONR)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: IIS1249822; IIS1302448; N000141310153; N000141010933