Medieval and scholastic philosophers explained causation through formal causes—attributing causal powers to the names of effects (like saying opium causes sleep because it has a 'dormitive virtue')—which late 17th-century mechanical philosophers correctly rejected as circular reasoning
factualpending
Speaker
Stephen MeyerEvidence Quote
“If I smoke some opium and then it puts me to sleep... it's because the opium had a dormitive virtue. You attribute causal powers to the name of the effect... 'We got to get rid of that type of explanation. It's just playing a word game.'”
Source
The Magician’s Twin, with David Berlinski, Stephen Meyer, and James Orr | Uncommon Knowledge— Hoover InstitutionCreated: 8/11/2026, 1:45:57 AM
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