Causal powers

Summary

Capacities attributed to structured entities in critical realist explanation. A proposed capacity still needs an account of its operation and evidence; observing an outcome alone does not establish its mechanism.

Implications for practice

Inspect the passage and the stated domain before using a term in a new setting.

Key distinctions

• source account vs editorial interpretation
• material exchange vs causal openness
• bibliographic access vs full-text evidence

Historical development

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Ideas it depends on

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Further developments

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Connections to practice

• Name the domain, conditions, and observation that could challenge the proposed connection.

Common confusions

• Treating a shared term as proof that two accounts are equivalent.

Further checks

• Original-source verification and human editorial review remain open.

Recorded connections

Check the wording, direction, scope, sources, and status of a connection before relying on it.

• Bhaskar: mechanisms in open systems (Challoner, 2026) introduces distinction Causal powers

  Status: candidate · Relation: introduces distinction

  In Challoner’s reconstruction: Causal powers concern capacities of structured entities; emergence involves differentiated levels.

  Locator: pp. 3–4, DG4–DG8

  • Bhaskar: mechanisms in open systems: researcher module (source scoped research pass)

Claims and disputes

• In Challoner’s reconstruction: Causal powers concern capacities of structured entities; emergence involves differentiated levels.

  Claim status: candidate. Review status: research pass needs editor.

  Source-scoped interpretation. Human editorial acceptance remains pending.

  Supporting sources

  • Bhaskar: mechanisms in open systems: researcher module (source scoped research pass)

Sources and passage locators

• Bhaskar: mechanisms in open systems: researcher module (source scoped research pass)

• Bhaskar: mechanisms in open systems: researcher module: pp. 3–4, DG4–DG8 · research pass needs editor

Cite this entry

Taylor, B. P. (2026). Causal powers. The Necessary Tangle, release 0.35. https://transduction.systems/entries/concept_causal_powers/

Include the release and review status when you quote or reuse this account.