---
title: "PHI403 Lecture 02 — Do We Need Causation in Science?"
type: source
tags: [philosophy-of-science, causation, russell, scepticism, empiricism]
authors: [Anjum, Rani Lill; Rocca, Elena]
year: 2023
venue: "PHI403 Causation in Science, NMBU"
kind: handout
raw_path: "raw/Philosophy of Science/PHI302 02 Do We Need Causation in Science.pdf"
created: 2026-04-20
updated: 2026-04-20
key_claims:
  - Russell (1913) argued causation is a "relic of a bygone age" because physics uses symmetric equations (F=ma) rather than directed causal claims.
  - But applied science requires causation; experiment, observation, and application are all impossible without causal relations.
  - Russell himself (1948) recanted; empirical knowledge is premised on the metaphysical assumption of causation.
  - Equations model reality but are not reality; they can omit causal features even if causation is real.
---

# PHI403 Lecture 02 — Do We Need Causation in Science?

Presents the **causal scepticism** challenge: Russell (1913) claimed causation does not appear in advanced physics — F=ma is a symmetric equation, not a directed causal claim, and "the law of causality, like much that passes muster among philosophers, is a relic of a bygone age". The lecture defends causation against this dismissal on three grounds:

- **Experiment** requires causal intervention ("why spend money on research if we cannot intervene?").
- **Observation** is a causal relation between object and observer.
- **Application** of scientific theories to problems requires that theories track causes.

Russell himself recanted in 1948. Equations model reality but are not reality; mathematics is a tool, not a replacement for causal theory. Science "is successful and useful because we can use it to get what we want by making changes" — an [[concepts/interventionist-theory-of-causation|interventionist]] argument for causation's ineliminability.

The lecture frames the course's guiding commitment: [[concepts/causation]] is real and indispensable to science, even if contested in its details.

## Connections
Back-link: [[sources/2023-anjum-rocca-phi403-causation-in-science]]. Concepts: [[concepts/causation]] · [[concepts/interventionist-theory-of-causation]] · [[concepts/philosophical-bias]].