A Model-Invariant Theory of Causation

This article provides a theory of causation in the causal modeling framework. In contrast to most of its predecessors, this theory is model-invariant in the following sense: if the theory says that C caused (didn’t cause) E in a causal model, M, then it will continue to say that that C caused (didn’t cause) E once one has removed an inessential variable from M. The article suggests that, if this theory is true, then one should understand a cause as something which transmits deviant or noninertial behavior to its effect.