Theories of Causation | Thomas Davenport, O.P.

If we are to speak about God’s “action” in the world and Him causing real effects, much of our conversation will depend on what we actually mean by action, and by causation. In this talk I will present an overview of the history of philosophical claims about causation and its relation to reality and our knowledge of reality. I will discuss the renewed confidence in causality as a real feature of the world among many philosophers and the various ways this causality is identified and described. Finally, I will briefly discuss some broad implications of these various theories for how we might conceive of Divine Action.