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Cause and effect concept doubt

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Cause and effect concept doubt

by hellother » Mon Aug 27, 2012 7:58 pm
Hi,
Can somebody please clarify this for me ?

Let us say : A causes B.

It says in my book that " The author assumes that A is the only cause of B " . So is it same as saying
" If A occurs, B also occurs " ? A(sufficient condition) ----> B(necessary condition) ."The author also assumes that " No alternative causes exist ie If B occurs, A also occurs." .So it is same as B(sufficient condition) ----> A(necessary condition)?
Combining we get A(sufficient condition) <------> B ( necessary condition) ??

Is this correct ? I think I am wrong because this is not explicitly stated in my book . So, if I am wrong, please clarify my question....

Thanks in advance....
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by Jim@StratusPrep » Wed Aug 29, 2012 8:13 am
The author assumes that A is the only cause of B --> this means 'B only if A', which is not the same as 'If A occurs, B also occurs'

Honestly am not sure what it is you mean by the rest of the statements, please clarify
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by hellother » Wed Aug 29, 2012 8:49 am
Ya... I get it now... So you are saying that " if B occurs, A also has occurred " .Am I right ?
One thing that confused me" was a statement in my book ...

For a " Strengthen cause and effect reasoning question ", it stated that

Strengthen the argument by using the following.
1) Show that when the cause occurs , the effect also occurs

But wouldn't it be a more appropriate statement if it were written that

"Show that when the EFFECT occurs , the CAUSE also occurs" ... according to your statement that
B occurs only if A occurs
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by vk_vinayak » Wed Aug 29, 2012 9:03 am
"Show that when the EFFECT occurs , the CAUSE also occurs"
It means that EFFECT -> CAUSE, which is not correct.

Say X is the cause and Y is the effect. We can use the symbol X -> Y to imply that X cause Y (or Y is caused by X).

Here are some ways to Strengthen X -> Y:

1. Show that whenever X occurs, Y also occurs (of course Y must occur after X has occurred)
2. Show that whenever Y occurs, X has occurred (ie X must happen before Y happens)
3. Show that X and Y DO NOT occur simultaneously (If X and Y occur simultaneously then there is no cause-and-effect)
4. Show that Y DOES NOT cause X

Hope it helps.
- VK

I will (Learn. Recognize. Apply)
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by hellother » Wed Aug 29, 2012 9:06 am
Thanks for the reply... but isn't your 2nd point the same as

"Show that when the EFFECT occurs , the CAUSE also occurs"
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by mohan514 » Fri Aug 31, 2012 9:48 am
go through the powerscore cr
it has a seperate chapter on these causal problems
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