A relationship between two events separated by distance in a temporal dimension, used by describing something as causal or acausal. A causal relationship is one such that the occurrence of one event is dependent upon the occurrence of the other. Thus describing a relationship as acausal means that the events in this relationship are not dependent upon each other. Describing a single event as acausal would imply that the event is not dependent upon any other event in order to manifest itself (I think this is impossible).

Examples:
Causal--: I cut my finger ---> My finger bleeds
Acausal--: I cut my finger ---> The phone rings

A system is said to be causal if it produces no output before an input is fed to it. A system where all the output is produced before the input is said to be anticausal.

Cau*sal"i*ty (?), n.; pl. Causalities ().

1.

The agency of a cause; the action or power of a cause, in producing its effect.

The causality of the divine mind. Whewell.

2. Phren.

The faculty of tracing effects to their causes.

G. Combe.

 

© Webster 1913.

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