Lauren Ross (University of California, Irvine)
This talk examines causal complexity in the context of scientific explanation, with a focus on neuropsychiatric genetics. The goals of this talk are to clarify types of causal complexity in science, how they challenge efforts to explain phenomena, and how scientists overcome such challenges. I describe two types of causal complexity, which I refer to as multicausality and causal heterogeneity. I discuss how the challenges posed by each type are related to forms of disunity at the level of causal factors and how strategies for overcoming these challenges implement means of unifying causes with respect to some effect of interest.
