Causation, Freedom and Determinism An Attempt to Solve the Causal Problem Through a Study of its Origins in Seventeenth-Century Philosophy Routledge Library Editions: Free Will and Determinism Series

This book, first published in 1936, divides into roughly two parts: a re-examination of historical material; and a positive theory of causation suggested by the results of this re-examination. The historical study discloses an ambiguity in the meanings of causation and determinism; it discloses also that this ambiguity is transferred to the meaning of freedom.

1. Preliminary Definitions 2. The Arguments for Determinism in Seventeenth-Century Philosophy 3. Science and Determinism 4. Hume’s Scepticism in its Relation to Causation and Determinism 5. The Perception of Causal Efficacy 6. Matter, Causation and Determinism 7. Freedom and Uniformity