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Position: the causal revolution needs scientific pragmatism

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  • Loftus, Joshua R.

Abstract

Causal models and methods have great promise, but their progress has been stalled. Proposals using causality get squeezed between two opposing worldviews. Scientific perfectionism-an insistence on only using “correct” models-slows the adoption of causal methods in knowledge generating applications. Pushing in the opposite direction, the academic discipline of computer science prefers algorithms with no or few assumptions, and technologies based on automation and scalability are often selected for economic and business applications. We argue that these system-centric inductive biases should be replaced with a human-centric philosophy we refer to as scientific pragmatism. The machine learning community must strike the right balance to make space for the causal revolution to prosper.

Suggested Citation

  • Loftus, Joshua R., 2024. "Position: the causal revolution needs scientific pragmatism," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 125578, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:125578
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Guido W. Imbens, 2020. "Potential Outcome and Directed Acyclic Graph Approaches to Causality: Relevance for Empirical Practice in Economics," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 58(4), pages 1129-1179, December.
    2. Qingyuan Zhao & Trevor Hastie, 2021. "Causal Interpretations of Black-Box Models," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(1), pages 272-281, January.
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    • C1 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General

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