On the Definition of the Causal Relation

In a recent paper in Mind 1 Prof. Arthur W. Burks has made an interesting proposal for the construction of a logic of causal propositions. Such a logic is greatly needed, for however completely the word ‘cause’ has been eliminated from epistemology, it is still very much a part of the working vocabulary of most empirical scientists. Prof. Burks begins, wisely, by avoiding the Humean controversy, and asks instead whether it is possible to give a clear and consistent explication within a system of logic of the term ‘cause’ as it is used in common speech. While I am wholly in accord with Prof. Burks’ suggestion that such an explication is possible and useful, my own investigations into the question have led me to a definitional proposal that is somewhat different from his.