Cause and Effect

As usual the section that I want to write about is the criteria for cause and effect. I always like the criteria section most because it allows us a tool for confirming the true issue we are dealing with. In this case we have six different necessities for a cause and effect. My favorite of these six is, “The cause makes a difference – if the cause had not happened (been true), the effect would not have happened (been true).” (p. 307) This is easy enough to understand, as it is the premise for the style. If I had not left forgotten to push the parking brake on my car when I parked on a hill, then the car would not have rolled into another car farther down the hill. One thing had to happen for the other to have happened. The text also says, “Checking that the cause makes a difference is how we make sure we haven’t overlooked another possible cause.” (p. 305)