Locke and the Real Problem of Causation

Abstract

Any number of problems about causation emerge when one puts Locke into contact with other philosophers such as Hume. But Locke’s real problem with causation is internal to his view. It is very simple: Chapter xxvi of Book II of the Essay is entitled ‘Of Cause and Effect, and other Relations’. Yet Locke has just finished explaining that relations are not real. So causation is not real.

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