causation

cau·sa·tion

noun \kȯ-ˈzā-shən\

Definition of CAUSATION

1

a : the act or process of causing

b : the act or agency which produces an effect

2

: causality

Examples of CAUSATION

1. the role of heredity in the causation of cancer
2. He claimed that the accident caused his injury, but the court ruled that he did not provide sufficient evidence of causation.

First Known Use of CAUSATION

1615

Related to CAUSATION

Synonyms

antecedent, causality, cause, occasion, reason

Antonyms

aftereffect, aftermath, consequence, corollary, development, effect, fate, fruit, issue, outcome, outgrowth, product, result, resultant, sequel, sequence, upshot

Related Words

causationism; consideration, determinant, factor; alpha and omega, be-all and end-all; impetus, incentive, inspiration, instigation, stimulus; mother, origin, root, source, spring

Near Antonyms

ramification; denouement (also dénouement), repercussion; conclusion, end; by-product, side effect (also side reaction)

Rhymes with CAUSATION

aeration, Alsatian, carnation, castration, cessation, cetacean, citation, Claymation, cognation, collation, conflation, C ration, creation, cremation, crenation, Croatian, crustacean, dalmatian, damnation, deflation, delation, dictation, dilation, donation, earth station, elation, Eurasian, filtration, fixation, flirtation, flotation, formation, foundation, frustration, gas station, gestation, gradation, gustation, guttation, gyration, hydration, inflation, lactation, legation, libation, location, lunation, lustration, luxation, migration, mutation, narration, negation, notation, oblation, oration, outstation, ovation, palmation, palpation, plantation, potation, predation, privation, probation, pronation, proration, prostration, pulsation, punctation, pupation, purgation, relation, rogation, rotation, salvation, sedation, sensation, serration, space station, stagflation, stagnation, starvation, striation, substation, summation, tarnation, taxation, temptation, translation, truncation, vacation, vexation, vibration, vocation, way station, workstation

causation

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Relation that holds between two temporally simultaneous or successive events when the first event (the cause) brings about the other (the effect). According to David Hume, when we say of two types of object or event that “X causes Y” (e.g., fire causes smoke), we mean that (i) Xs are “constantly conjoined” with Ys, (ii) Ys follow Xs and not vice versa, and (iii) there is a “necessary connection” between Xs and Ys such that whenever an X occurs, a Y must follow. Unlike the ideas of contiguity and succession, however, the idea of necessary connection is subjective, in the sense that it derives from the act of contemplating objects or events that we have experienced as being constantly conjoined and succeeding one another in a certain order, rather than from any observable properties in the objects or events themselves. This idea is the basis of the classic problem of induction, which Hume formulated. Hume's definition of causation is an example of a “regularity” analysis. Other types of analysis include counterfactual analysis, manipulation analysis, and probabilistic analysis.