We assume all events are caused by something. Yet we happily refer to random chance be it a freak accident, or the state of quantum particles. Might causality be a fiction and inexplicable events written into the character of the universe, or with greater understanding could we find an explanation for everything?
In this week’s video, 2017 Lebowitz Prize-winning philosopher Nancy Cartwright, cosmologist George Ellis and Imperial College string theorist Michael Duff confront unexplained events and untangle cause and effect.
This video was produced by The Institute of Art and Ideas and is republished here with permission. It was filmed at HowTheLightGetsIn 2015 alongside 200 other debates and talks, all available for free at IAI TV. Their new podcast, Philosophy for our times, is available here.