Presents a selection of the most influential recent discussions of the crucial metaphysical question: What is it for one event to cause another? The subject of causation bears on many other topics, such as time, explanation, mental states, the laws of nature and the philosophy of science.

Causes and conditions, J.L. Mackie; defects of the necessary condition analysis of causation, Michael Scriven; causes and events - Mackie on causation, Jaegwon Kim; causal relations, Donald Davidson; causality and determination, G.E.M. Anscombe; on the logic and epistemology of the causal relation, G.H. von Wright; on the nature and observability of the causal relation, C.J. Ducasse; probabilistic causality, Wesley C. Salmon; causality - production and propagation, Wesley C. Salmon; causation - reductionism versus realism, Michael Tooley; causation, David Lewis; causes and counterfactuals, Jaegwon kim; Lewis's program, Paul Horwich; event causation - the counterfactual analysis, Jonathan Bennett; varieties of causation, Ernest Sosa.

`Since the 1960's, the Oxford Readings in Philosophy have provided an essential service to all teachers of the subject. ... in a colourful and attractive new format, but the essential aim of the series remains unchanged: to introduce students, as gently as is realistically possible, to the best work in a given area. ... the volume on time is very wide ranging Cogito :Winter 1993

`Since the 1960's, the Oxford Readings in Philosophy have provided an essential service to all teachers of the subject. ... in a colourful and attractive new format, but the essential aim of the series remains unchanged: to introduce students, as gently as is realistically possible, to the best work in a given area. ... the volume on time is very wide ranging Cogito :Winter 1993 `Excellent selection from the literature' W.H. Newton-Smith, Balliol College, University of Oxford `First-rate anthology' Mr R.B. Taylor, University of Kent `Very useful collection of papers.' Dr E.J. Lowe, Durham University `An excellent collection containing classic papers on causation.' Dr C. Macdonald, University of Manchester 'This anthology will be quite valuable to professional philosophers, graduate students and advanced undergraduates. It could easily be used as a source of material for a seminar on causation. The book contains an extensive bibliography and this alone makes it a valuable resource to anyone doing research in this or a related field.' Fred Foulks, University of British Columbia, Canadian Philosophical Reviews, Vol. XIV, No. 1, Feb 1994