「因果模型」（又稱作「結構方程模型」）是分析因果關聯與進行因果推理時，十分重要的工具。這套工具已經發展得相當完整，並且被廣泛地應用在社會科學的許多領域中，也被應用在許多的哲學理論上。例如，Woodward (2003)的因果解釋理論、Briggs (2012)的干預型反事實條件句理論、Schaffer (2016)的形上立基之結構方程進路等等，都訴諸了因果模型這樣的工具，來幫助我們將重要的哲學概念加以理論化。

在本課程中，我們會很仔細地研究因果模型這套工具，詳細研讀Pearl (2009)的經典著作：Causality: Models, Reasoning, and Inference (CUP)。因果模型的技術細節，以及因果模型的哲學意涵，也會在課程中詳加討論。

Causal models, also known as ‘structural equation models’, are very important tools for analyzing causal connections and making causal inference. These tools have already been well developed and widely applied in many areas in social sciences, and also in many philosophical theories. For instance, Woodward’s (2003) theory of causal explanation, Briggs’s (2012) theory of interventionist counterfactuals, Schaffer’s (2016) structural equation approach to metaphysical grounding, etc., all invoke causal models to help theorize important philosophical concepts.

In this course, we shall carefully study causal models by going through Pearl’s (2009) Causality: Models, Reasoning, and Inference (CUP). The technical details and the philosophical significance of causal models will also be discussed in class.