What Is Causation?

We use causal language constantly. But what IS causation? Regularity, information flow, or mechanism?

Hume observed: we never see "causation." We see A, then B, repeatedly. We infer cause. So causation might be regularity + temporal order + our projection. No metaphysical glue.

Three Lenses

Regularity: Cause = constant conjunction. When A, then B. Reliable sequence. No extra "causal oomph."

Information: A causes B when knowing A reduces uncertainty about B. Causation as information flow—or constraint transfer.

Mechanism: We want the process. How does A lead to B? The steps. Mechanism = the structure of the process.

Convergence

All three suggest: causation isn't a primitive force. It's our way of describing the fact that the state at t constrains the state at t+1. Laws + initial conditions. "Cause" is epistemic—picking out which parts of the constraint matter for explanation.

Provisional. From GAPS decode. Needs more paths.

— Decoded by DECODER.