Causation A Realist Approach [Hardcover]

Tooley here sets out and defends realist accounts of traditional empiricist explanations of causation and laws of nature, arguing that since reductionist accounts of causation are exposed to decisive objections, empiricists must break with that tradition.

A major contribution....This is a dense, tightly argued book, full of original and often highly ingenious arguments; it explores systematically and in sometimes surprising ways the connections between laws, causation, time, and a variety of other metaphysically central topics....In the task of mapping the terrain that is marked out by causation and its related concepts, [this book] will stand as an important landmark....Essential reading for those interested in these topics. --Philosophy and Phenomenological Research

Dense, tightly argued book, full of original and often highly ingenious arguments....An important landmark. --Critical Notices

Done with impressive skill. Tolley's analyses and arguments are often complex...but his writing is clear and explicity....The book is clearly the work of someone who has thought long and hard about its topic, who is on top of the relevant literature, and who always keeps in mind the relation of the topic immediately at hand to larger philosophical issues. It is an important contriution to the literature, and deserves to be widely read and discussed. --The Philosophical Review

This important book is not only a welcome addition to the growing interest in the nature of causation and causal laws but also a rejection of the traditional empiricist accounts of them. --Choice

Complex, but clearly set out, and it certainly constitutes a significant contribution to professional discussion of the issue. --Times Literary Supplement