"Cause is the cement of the universe; the concept of cause is what holds together our picture of the universe, a picture that would otherwise disintegrate into a diptych of the mental and the physical."
— Davidson, Donald (1917-2003)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
Oxford
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Date
1980
Metaphor
"Cause is the cement of the universe; the concept of cause is what holds together our picture of the universe, a picture that would otherwise disintegrate into a diptych of the mental and the physical."
Metaphor in Context
The theme is the role of causal concepts in the description and explanation of human action. The thesis is that the ordinary notion of cause which enters into scientific or common-sense accounts of non-psychological affairs is essential also to the understanding of what it is to act for a reason, to have a certain intention in acting, to be an agent, to act counter to one's own best judgement, or to act freely. Cause is the cement of the universe; the concept of cause is what holds together our picture of the universe, a picture that would otherwise disintegrate into a diptych of the mental and the physical.
(p. xi)
(p. xi)
Categories
Provenance
Reading
Citation
Donald Davidson, Essays on Actions & Events (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980).
Date of Entry
08/25/2011
