causal

Downward Causation Is Unintelligible

The idea of downward causation—that the macroscopic shape or purpose of a thing feeds back and changes the behavior at the microscopic level in a way not derivable from the microscopic level alone—is wrong; the snowflake example fails because if you fully knew what every water molecule was doing, that is all you would need to know.

causalpending

Speaker

Sean Carroll

Evidence Quote

if you really knew what every water molecule was doing that's all you would need to know

Source

124 - In Search Of RealityMaking Sense with Sam Harris
Created: 6/14/2026, 2:37:20 AM

My Notes

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