---
title: Rani Lill Anjum
type: entity
tags: [philosopher, causation, dispositionalism, philosophy-of-science]
affiliation: "NMBU — Norwegian University of Life Sciences"
sources: ["[[sources/2023-anjum-rocca-phi403-causation-in-science]]"]
created: 2026-04-20
updated: 2026-04-20
---

# Rani Lill Anjum

Philosopher of science at [[entities/nmbu|NMBU]] (Norwegian University of Life Sciences) and leader of the **CauseHealth** research project. Works on causation, dispositionalism, philosophical bias in science, and the philosophy of scientific methods. Frequent co-author with [[entities/elena-rocca]].

## Positions defended in this wiki
- Causation is real and necessary for science — contra Russell (1913). Experiments, observation, and applied science all presuppose causation (see [[sources/2023-anjum-rocca-phi403-lecture-02-do-we-need-causation]]).
- **[[concepts/dispositionalism|Dispositionalism]]** — causes are properties with tendencies/powers; the dispositional modality sits between pure contingency (Hume) and necessity.
- Co-author of Andersen, Anjum & Rocca 2019, *"Philosophical bias is the one bias that science cannot avoid"* (eLife) — foundation of the course's thesis on [[concepts/philosophical-bias]].
- **[[concepts/causal-pluralism|Causal/methodological pluralism]]** — a plurality of methods is needed to identify causation's many symptoms.
- Critic of the evidence hierarchy in EBM; co-authored course treatments of [[concepts/rct-limitations|RCT limitations]].

## Contributions in this wiki
- [[sources/2023-anjum-rocca-phi403-causation-in-science]] — PHI403 course meta-source (20 lectures).

## Related
[[entities/elena-rocca]] · [[entities/nmbu]] · [[concepts/dispositionalism]] · [[concepts/causation]]