causationist

English

Etymology

From causation +‎ -ist.

Noun

causationist (plural causationists)

1. (philosophy) One who believes in a first cause.
   • 1982, Lenore Kuo, Causationism: A Theory Regarding the Freedom of Human Action, page 147:

     That which is "morally good (correct, right)" will have the same meaning, in most cases, for the Causationist ( or Determinist ) as it does for the Libertarian or Compatibilist .

   • 2016, Joseph Urbas, Emerson's Metaphysics: A Song of Laws and Causes, page xxiii:

     As a "causationist," Emerson believes that there is "not a weak or cracked link in the chain that joins the first and last of things," and he defines "causality," therefore, as "strict connexion between every pulse-beat and the principle of being" ("Power,", CW 6:29).

Adjective

causationist

1. Pertaining to causationism.
   • 1982, Lenore Kuo, Causationism: A Theory Regarding the Freedom of Human Action, page 148:

     However , the inability to incorporate such a view of " the good " into a Causationist analysis of morality is not a problem for Causationism.

   • 2016, Joseph Urbas, Emerson's Metaphysics: A Song of Laws and Causes, page 158:

     Emerson's doctrine of the Soul, which the Divinity School Address opposes to that of the Church, is also causationist, since the soul " causes " and speaks to us in one language only " that of cause and effect " ( CW 2:37 , 168 ) .

2. Pertaining to a belief that something (violent behavior, neurosis, etc) is caused by specific social conditions (violent media, poor parenting, etc).
   • 2013, David Pilgrim, Ann McCranie, Recovery and Mental Health: A Critical Sociological Account, page 162:

     That ecological trend adhered to causationist arguments.

   • 2018, Patrick Lee Plaisance, Communication and Media Ethics, page 256:

     The communication and social theorists Tom Grimes, James Anderson and Lori Bergen have named the core assertion of this science the "causationist hypothesis”; that is, that simply viewing, reading, or listening to violent media is sufficient to cause aggressive or violent attitudes or behaviors in media consumers, especially if they are children (2008).