Downward Causation – The Way How Mind and Matter Interact?

The paper analyzes Karl Popper’s and John Eccles’ account of mind-matter interaction and compares their use of the concept of downward causation with other more recent accounts of it, especially those of Nancey Murphy and George Ellis. The argument includes John Polkinghorne’s take on Divine action, as it provides an interesting version of downward mind/matter-interaction. It will be argued that while downward causation is a speculative concept, it nevertheless remains the best approximation to a scientific perspective on mind/matter interaction that we can obtain. As a result, Popper’s and Eccles’ account seems to be more interesting in these regards than usually assumed, and should not continue to be overlooked in the debate.

Examining the Alliance-Outcome Relationship: Reverse Causation, Third Variables, and Treatment Phase Artifacts

Psychotherapy research reveals consistent associations between therapeutic alliance and treatment outcomes in the youth and adult literatures. Despite these consistent findings, prospective associations are not sufficient to support the claim that the alliance is a change mechanism in psychotherapy. The current study examined the direction of effect of the alliance- outcome relationship, the contribution of early symptom change in treatment to the development of therapeutic alliance, and the potential for pretreatment interpersonal functioning characteristics to be third variables that account for the association between alliance and outcome. Participants were adolescents with depression and a history of interpersonal trauma that presented to a community mental health center for treatment. Findings demonstrated that a more positive therapeutic alliance predicted greater subsequent symptom improvement, even after removing symptom change occurring before the measurement of alliance. Results also suggested that early change only slightly contributed to alliance development. Finally, though pretreatment interpersonal functioning was related to the first session alliance, these pretreatment client characteristics were not related to later alliance or symptom change. Overall, results provided some support for therapeutic alliance as a mechanism of change in psychotherapy. Methodological and clinical issues are discussed.

Causation and Harm in a Multicomponent World

On September 17, 2015, the Federal Circuit issued another decision in the epic Apple v. Samsung smartphone war. This was the fourth court decision in the ongoing saga to deal with injunctions. Apple IV explained the level of proof necessary to satisfy the "causal nexus" requirement. This requirement had emerged as a response to patent litigations involving products with thousands of features, the vast majority of which are unrelated to the asserted patent. To prove a causal nexus, patentees seeking an injunction have to do more than just show that the infringing product caused the patentee irreparable harm. The harm must be specifically attributable to the infringing feature. In Apple IV, the Federal Circuit noted that proving causation was "nearly impossible" in these multicomponent cases. So it decided to water down the causal nexus requirement saying that it was enough for Apple to show that the infringing features were "important"and customer sought these particular features. This lower standard is an ill-advised mistake that leaves multicomponent product manufacturers more susceptible to patent holdup. My critique takes two parts. First, I argue that a single infringing feature rarely, if ever, "causes" consumers to buy the infringer’s multicomponent products. The minor features at issue in Apple IV illustrate this point vividly. Thus, the new causal nexus standard does not accurately reflect how causation and harm operate in a multicomponent world. Second, I explain why the court was so willing to accept such little evidence of real injury. It improperly applied notions of traditional property law to patents. Specifically, the court viewed patent infringement as harmful regardless of any concrete consequences. This view may resonate for other forms of property where an owner's rights are paramount and a trespass is considered offensive in and of itself. But the same concepts do not apply to patent law where the Supreme Court has consistently said that private interests must take a back seat to the public good. Based on these principles, the courts should restore the "causal nexus" requirement and not presume causation.

Development of a methodology for accident causation research. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Manual for accident causation research.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Pedestrian injury causation parameters. Phase II. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Tri-level study: modification. Task 4: final report on the relationships between driver characteristics and accident causation.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Tri-level study: modification. Task 6: a final report on supplemental causation assessments through hypothesis testing.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Accident causation methodology development for the National Accident Sampling System: final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Pedestrian injury causation parameters - phase I. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Tri-level study: modification. Task 2: final report on driver/vehicle characteristics related to vehicle condition and causation and an assessment of Indiana PMVI effectiveness to reduce the frequency and severity of accident causes by vehicular-related malfunctions/degradations. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Pedestrian injury causation parameters. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Pedestrian injury causation parameters. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Pedestrian injury causation study - (PICS). Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.