Proximate and ultimate causation
Event which is closest to, or immediately responsible for causing, some observed result / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Not to be confused with First uncaused cause or First cause argument.
A proximate cause is an event which is closest to, or immediately responsible for causing, some observed result. This exists in contrast to a higher-level ultimate cause (or distal cause) which is usually thought of as the "real" reason something occurred.
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The concept is used in many fields of research and analysis, including data science and ethology.
- Example: Why did the ship sink?
- Proximate cause: Because it was holed beneath the waterline, water entered the hull and the ship became denser than the water which supported it, so it could not stay afloat.
- Ultimate cause: Because the ship hit a rock which tore open the hole in the ship's hull.
In most situations, an ultimate cause may itself be a proximate cause in comparison to a further ultimate cause. Hence we can continue the above example as follows:
- Example: Why did the ship hit the rock?
- Proximate cause: Because the ship failed to change course to avoid it.
- Ultimate cause: Because the ship was under autopilot and the autopilot's data was inaccurate.
- (even stronger): Because the shipwrights made mistakes in the ship's construction.
- (stronger yet): Because the scheduling of labor at the shipyard allows for very little rest.
- (in absurdum): Because the shipyard's owners have very small profit margins in an ever-shrinking market.