--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As you can see, it is very hard to say…" description: "\"“As you can see, it is very hard to say what causation is. This has led some philosophers to deny that there are causes in the world at all.”\" — David ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a73/david-s-kidder-37902_causation_as-you-can-see-it-is-very-hard-to-say-wh_341185.jpg" --- # As you can see, it is very hard to say what causation is… ![“As you can see, it is very hard to say what causation is. This has led some philosophers to deny that there are causes in the world at all.” quote by David S. Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a73/david-s-kidder-37902_causation_as-you-can-see-it-is-very-hard-to-say-wh_341185.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a73/david-s-kidder-37902_causation_as-you-can-see-it-is-very-hard-to-say-wh_341185.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a73/david-s-kidder-37902_causation_as-you-can-see-it-is-very-hard-to-say-wh_341185.jpg) > ““As you can see, it is very hard to say what causation is. This has led some philosophers to deny that there are causes in the world at all.”” [David S. Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-kidder/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The nature of causation is elusive, leading some philosophers to reject the existence of causes altogether. **In simple terms:** Causation is hard to define, prompting denial of causes. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about cause and effect. Themes philosophy epistemology metaphysics Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - academic debate - scientific research - everyday reasoning Key Concepts causation skepticism ontological debate Questions to Reflect On - How do you identify cause in complex systems? - Can we function without assuming causes? 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The Application of the Law of Causation to Morals. Although it may be needless to state here the law of causation at any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaiten-nukariya/8-the-application-of-the-law-of-causation-to-morals-although-it-may/) [Kaiten Nukariya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaiten-nukariya/) ## More by David S. Kidder > [“Zhang’s seismometer—Houfeng Didong Yi, or the “instrument for inquiring into the wind and the shaking of the earth”—was reconstructed by a Chinese museum in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-kidder/zhang-s-seismometer-houfeng-didong-yi-or-the-instrument-for-inquiring/) [David S. Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-kidder/) > [“One by one, Napoleon's armies toppled the ancient monarchies of Europe. The French believed the great ideals of their Republic-liberty, equality, and fraternity-were universal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-kidder/one-by-one-napoleon-s-armies-toppled-the-ancient-monarchies-of-europe/) [David S. Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-kidder/) > [“But it would take the English more than fifty years to subdue Scotland. According to legend, Wallace’s animosity toward the English was sparked by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-kidder/but-it-would-take-the-english-more-than-fifty-years-to-subdue/) [David S. Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-kidder/) > [“Do not fly a kite in a thunderstorm. Several imitators, under the impression that Franklin had safely carried out the test as described in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-kidder/do-not-fly-a-kite-in-a-thunderstorm-several-imitators-under-the/) [David S. Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-kidder/) > [“Why didn’t the chicken cross the road? According to the ancient philosopher and logician Zeno of Elea (c. 495–c. 430 BC), the bird simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-kidder/why-didn-t-the-chicken-cross-the-road-according-to-the-ancient/) [David S. 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Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-kidder/) > [“Babylonian scientists used a counting system based on the number sixty, which is why minutes have sixty seconds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-kidder/babylonian-scientists-used-a-counting-system-based-on-the-number/) [David S. Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-kidder/) > [“At the time, most Europeans believed that religious conformity was necessary to safeguard civil order, and they questioned how such a diverse colony could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-kidder/at-the-time-most-europeans-believed-that-religious-conformity-was/) [David S. Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-kidder/) > [“Belief in reincarnation was the central tenet of the Pythagorean religion. Pythagoras taught that the soul was indestructible, but that people needed to follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-kidder/belief-in-reincarnation-was-the-central-tenet-of-the-pythagorean/) [David S. Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-kidder/) [Explore all 12 David S. Kidder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-kidder/) ## More Causation quotes > [All is bound by the law of causation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/all-is-bound-by-the-law-of-causation/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [The parallelism, or denial of any causation between mind and body, derives basically, and fallaciously, from a theory of substances as having complete concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gonzalo-rodriguez-pereyra/the-parallelism-or-denial-of-any-causation-between-mind-and-body/) [Gonzalo Rodriguez-Pereyra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gonzalo-rodriguez-pereyra/) > [“8. The Application of the Law of Causation to Morals. Although it may be needless to state here the law of causation at any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaiten-nukariya/8-the-application-of-the-law-of-causation-to-morals-although-it-may/) [Kaiten Nukariya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaiten-nukariya/) > [If ... we choose a group of social phenomena with no antecedent knowledge of the causation or absence of causation among them, then the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-fisher/if-we-choose-a-group-of-social-phenomena-with-no-antecedent-knowledge/) [Ronald Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-fisher/) > [“While the powers of the Primal Cause lie in causation, it shows itself in process through thoughts, perception and conception. It is the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dew-platt/while-the-powers-of-the-primal-cause-lie-in-causation-it-shows-itself/) [Dew Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dew-platt/) > [“correlation and causation. It’s one thing to be linked to a disease; it’s quite another to cause a disease, which implies a directing, controlling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-h-lipton/correlation-and-causation-it-s-one-thing-to-be-linked-to-a-disease-it/) [Bruce H. Lipton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-h-lipton/) > [“Most of you will have heard the maxim "correlation does not imply causation." Just because two variables have a statistical relationship with each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/most-of-you-will-have-heard-the-maxim-correlation-does-not-imply/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) > [Science was tearing through the 'fine-spun ecclesiastical cobwebs' to behold a new cosmos, in which our Earth is merely an 'eccentric speck' - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-desmond/science-was-tearing-through-the-fine-spun-ecclesiastical-cobwebs-to/) Adrian Desmond > [Everything that we know is within our universe, and everything within our universe is moulded by the conditions of space, time, and causation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/everything-that-we-know-is-within-our-universe-and-everything-within/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [It is a character that pays everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-character-that-pays-everywhere/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To plead the organic causation of a religious state of mind, then, in refutation of its claim to possess superior spiritual value, is quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/to-plead-the-organic-causation-of-a-religious-state-of-mind-then-in/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The enlightened man is one with the law of causation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wumen-huikai/the-enlightened-man-is-one-with-the-law-of-causation/) [Wumen Huikai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wumen-huikai/) > [“on reasoning about patterns of causation. They are products of System 1. In 1944, at about the same”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/on-reasoning-about-patterns-of-causation-they-are-products-of-system/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [The effort to eliminate synthetic pesticides because of unsubstantiated fears about residues in food will make fruits and vegetables more expensive, decrease consumption, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-ames/the-effort-to-eliminate-synthetic-pesticides-because-of/) [Bruce Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-ames/) > [A certain motion becomes understood when it is referred to a force; certain sensations, to matter; certain changes outside, to law; certain changes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/a-certain-motion-becomes-understood-when-it-is-referred-to-a-force/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) [Browse all 98 Causation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As you can see, it is very hard to say what causation is. 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