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82Information Channels and Biomarkers of DiseaseTopoi 35 (1): 175-190. 2016.Current research in molecular epidemiology uses biomarkers to model the different disease phases from environmental exposure, to early clinical changes, to development of disease. The hope is to get a better understanding of the causal impact of a number of pollutants and chemicals on several diseases, including cancer and allergies. In a recent paper Russo and Williamson address the question of what evidential elements enter the conceptualisation and modelling stages of this type of biomarkers …Read more
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33Causal Arrows in econometric ModelsHumana Mente 3 (10). 2009.Econometrics applies statistical methods to study economic phenomena. Roughly, by means of equations, econometricians typically account for the response variable in terms of a number of explanatory variables. The question arises under what conditions econometric models can be given a causal interpretation. By drawing the distinction between associational models and causal models, the paper argues that a proper use of background knowledge, three distinct types of assumptions (statistical, extra-s…Read more
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69Introduction: Evidence and Causality in the SciencesTopoi 33 (2): 293-294. 2014.Evidence and CausalityCausality is a vibrant and thriving topic in philosophy of science. It is closely related to many other challenging scientific concepts, such as probability and mechanisms, which arise in many different scientific contexts, in different fields. For example, probability and mechanisms are relevant to both causal inference (finding out what causes what) and causal explanation (explaining how a cause produces its effect). They are also of interest to fields as diverse as astro…Read more
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12Jean-René Vernes, L'existence du monde extérieur et l'erreur du rationalismeRevue Philosophique De Louvain 101 (1): 173-176. 2003.
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41The reality of the unobservable. Observability, unobservability and their impact on the issue of scientific realism. Edited by Evandro Agazzi and Massimo Pauri (review)Revue Philosophique De Louvain 101 (1): 176-179. 2003.
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9Élie Zahar, Essai d'épistémologie réaliste. Avant-propos de Alain BoyerRevue Philosophique De Louvain 101 (3): 516-519. 2003.
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375The Agency and the Manipulability theory of causation, in spite of significant differences, share at least three claims. First, that manipulation – roughly, that by manipulating causes we bring about effects – is a central notion for causation; second, that such a notion of manipulation allows a reductive – i.e. general and comprehensive – account of causation; third, that this view has its forefathers in the works of Collingwood, Gasking and von Wright. This paper mainly challenges the third cl…Read more
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564The Rationale of Variation in Methodological and Evidential PluralismPhilosophica 77 (1). 2006.Causal analysis in the social sciences takes advantage of a variety of methods and of a multi-fold source of information and evidence. This pluralistic methodology and source of information raises the question of whether we should accordingly have a pluralistic metaphysics and epistemology. This paper focuses on epistemology and argues that a pluralistic methodology and evidence dont entail a pluralistic epistemology. It will be shown that causal models employ a single rationale of testing, bas…Read more
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284Salmon and Van Fraassen on the existence of unobservable entities: A matter of interpretation of probability (review)Foundations of Science 11 (3): 221-247. 2006.A careful analysis of Salmon’s Theoretical Realism and van Fraassen’s Constructive Empiricism shows that both share a common origin: the requirement of literal construal of theories inherited by the Standard View. However, despite this common starting point, Salmon and van Fraassen strongly disagree on the existence of unobservable entities. I argue that their different ontological commitment towards the existence of unobservables traces back to their different views on the interpretation of pro…Read more
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93The notion of ‘causal web’ emerged in the epidemiological literature in the early Sixties and had to wait until the Nineties for a thorough critical appraisal. Famously, Nancy Krieger argued that such a notion isn’t helpful unless we specify what kind of spiders create the webs. This means, according to Krieger, (i) that the role of the spiders is to provide an explanation of the yarns of the web and (ii) that the sought spiders have to be biological and social. This paper contributes to the dev…Read more
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104Representation and Structure in Economics. The Methodology of Econometric Models of the Consumption Function, Hsiang-Ke Chao. Routledge, 2009, xiv + 161 pages (review)Economics and Philosophy 26 (1): 114-118. 2010.
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118Correlational Data, Causal Hypotheses, and ValidityJournal for General Philosophy of Science / Zeitschrift für Allgemeine Wissenschaftstheorie 42 (1). 2011.A shared problem across the sciences is to make sense of correlational data coming from observations and/or from experiments. Arguably, this means establishing when correlations are causal and when they are not. This is an old problem in philosophy. This paper, narrowing down the scope to quantitative causal analysis in social science, reformulates the problem in terms of the validity of statistical models. Two strategies to make sense of correlational data are presented: first, a 'structural st…Read more
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42Strevens. 2009. Depth. An account of scientific explanations (review)Theoria : An International Journal for Theory, History and Fundations of Science 26 (2): 261-263. 2011.
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36IntroductionStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 43 (4): 758-760. 2012.