causation
Making things happen
Causation is the relationship between cause and effect—the principle that one event or condition brings about another.
In law, establishing causation means proving that a defendant's action directly produced the harm: The plaintiff must demonstrate causation between the negligence and her injuries.
Philosophers distinguish causation from mere correlation: two things happening together doesn't mean one caused the other.
Formal examination of facts
- studyDeliberate learning effort
- researchSystematic fact-finding effort
- inquiryRequest for information
- examinationMethodical assessment or review
assessment · evaluation · determination · attribution · diagnosis · explanation · inference · reasoning
What initiates action
- induceCause or persuade
- provokeIncite a response
- precipitateHeadlong and reckless
- engenderCause to arise
generate · initiate · spark · prompt · incite · stimulate · activate · produce
Point of origin
- rootUnderground absorbing structure
- genesisPoint of creation
- originStarting point or source
- antecedentSomething that precedes
precursor · seed · basis · foundation · wellspring · fountainhead · starting point · prime mover
Ordered succession of elements
- dominoRectangular game piece
- cascadeSuccessive downward flow
- progressionSequential forward movement
- successionFollowing in order
linkage · reaction · continuum · ripple · concatenation · series · snowball · pathway
Predetermined course of events
- destinyPredetermined course of events
- predestinationDivinely predetermined fate
- fatalismDoctrine of inevitable outcomes
- inevitabilityQuality of being unavoidable
necessity · predetermination · providence · free will · determinism · hard determinism · karma
Legal or financial obligation
- negligenceFailure to exercise care
- tortActionable civil harm
- foreseeabilityCapacity to be anticipated
- damagesCompensation for injury
burden of proof · duty of care · breach · culpability · malpractice · contributory · remoteness
What follows a cause
- outcomeFinal result of events
- consequenceResult of an action
- aftermathResults following an event
- impactForceful contact or consequence
ramification · repercussion · product · upshot · fallout · side-effect · aftereffect · knock-on
Group with shared aim
- relationshipConnection between entities
- linkageConnected system of parts
- connectionA joining or relation
- coincidenceUnplanned matching of events
spurious · confounding · covariance · statistical · variables · dependence · pattern · regression
investigation
Formal examination of facts
examination · assessment · evaluation · determination · attribution · diagnosis · explanation · inference · reasoning · tracing
trigger
What initiates action
- induceCause or persuade
- provokeIncite a response
- precipitateHeadlong and reckless
engender · generate · initiate · spark · prompt · incite · stimulate · activate · produce · elicit
source
Point of origin
antecedent · precursor · seed · basis · foundation · wellspring · fountainhead · starting point · prime mover · impetus
sequence
Ordered succession of elements
- dominoRectangular game piece
- cascadeSuccessive downward flow
- progressionSequential forward movement
succession · linkage · reaction · continuum · ripple · concatenation · series · snowball · pathway · mechanism
fate
Predetermined course of events
- destinyPredetermined course of events
- predestinationDivinely predetermined fate
- fatalismDoctrine of inevitable outcomes
inevitability · necessity · predetermination · providence · free will · determinism · hard determinism · karma
liability
Legal or financial obligation
- negligenceFailure to exercise care
- tortActionable civil harm
- foreseeabilityCapacity to be anticipated
damages · burden of proof · duty of care · breach · culpability · malpractice · contributory · remoteness
result
What follows a cause
- outcomeFinal result of events
- consequenceResult of an action
- aftermathResults following an event
impact · ramification · repercussion · product · upshot · fallout · side-effect · aftereffect · knock-on · culmination
association
Group with shared aim
- relationshipConnection between entities
- linkageConnected system of parts
- connectionA joining or relation
coincidence · spurious · confounding · covariance · statistical · variables · dependence · pattern · regression · significance
- philosophy termstruth, reason, knowledge, wisdom, logic
- Dependent Originationpratityasamutpada, causal chain, causal links, ignorance, formations
- connectionslink, links, connect, connection, tie
- abstractionsidea, concept, abstraction, thought, meaning
- analysisanalyze, analysis, evaluate, data analysis, examine
- experimentsexperiment, experiments, test, tests, trials
causationcorrelation
Statistical relationship measure
coincidence · association · co-occurrence · concomitance · happenstance
causationeffect
Result of a cause
result · consequence · outcome · aftermath · product
causationrandomness
Lack of predictable pattern
chance · indeterminacy · indeterminism · spontaneity · fate
- disease causationHow illnesses originate
- mental causationMind affecting physical events