what nature of causal relationship there is in a given scenario? ”
Causation refers to the determinant or means that leads to the cause of a particular effect or condition. There are four types of causation namely; causally necessary, causally sufficient, causally necessary and sufficient and lastly causal dependence of one variable on another.
Causally necessary
This type of causation, which dictates that for a condition to take place, there must be a condition that is required to produce that effect. A good example is the female Anopheles mosquito causes Malaria; therefore, this effect will not occur without the female Anopheles mosquito. However, there other conditions that require the presence of more than one causation. A good example is a fire that needs fuel, oxygen, and heat to take place.
Causally sufficient
This type of causation states that there must be adequate cause for a resultant condition to occur. This means that if x is an adequate cause for a condition y to take place then result condition y will never happen without sufficient cause, which is x . For example, poor performance by students in schools is associated with chronic absenteeism. However, chronic absenteeism may not be the only cause resulting in poor performances by students. This means that there are several sufficient causes for poor performance by students, they include poor study habits, and indiscipline cases by students among others will result in poor performance.
Causally necessary and sufficient
This states that for some condition to occur there must be necessary and sufficient cause to contribute to the effect. This means that there must be a causal relationship between the two. This means that a condition will neither occur without the necessary cause nor will the necessary cause take place without the effect. A good example is an object mass is causally necessary and sufficient for the presence of a gravitational force hence if an object of a given mass is present then gravitational force is also available.
Causal dependence of one variable on another
This type of causation refers to the variable x is causally dependent on a second variable y in such a way that if a change in the variable x will bring about a corresponding shift in variable y . A good example is pressure in water varies with depth. This means that an increase in pressure is associated with an increase in the depth of water. However, the pressure will reduce with a decrease in the depth of water.
References
Lau, J. & Chan,J (2017) Necessity and Sufficient Conditions http://philosophy.hku.hk
Ruggiero, V, (February, 2011) Beyond Feelings: A Guide to Critical Thinking, 9th edition http://digitalbookshelf.argosy.edu
Vihvelin, Kadri (2016) Cause, Effect5, and Counterfactual Dependence http://pdfs.semanticsscholar.org
