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Accepted manuscript

Pragmatist Realism about Causation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2026

Jason DeWitt*
Affiliation:
The Ohio State University
*
*Corresponding author: Jason DeWitt; Email: dewitt.197@osu.edu
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Abstract

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Some philosophers argue that pragmatist accounts of causation require accepting perspectivalism—the view that causation depends on an agent’s perspective. This paper critically evaluates this inference by examining Price’s arguments for perspectivalism and against Woodward’s view. I demonstrate that Price’s positive argument rests on an unacceptable premise, and drawing on Woodward’s work, I propose a pragmatist realist view of causation that survives Price’s criticisms. This pragmatist realism identifies causes through human concerns and practices, but treats the causal relation as objective and independent of agential perspectives. The paper concludes by showing Ismael’s perspectivalist view is consistent with pragmatist realism.

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Type
Article
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Philosophy of Science Association