Another Cause and Effect Problem!

[Dianapoo]

Sorry, an unrelated question to my previous post! If one says "x can cause y", that can be translated to "x possibly causes y". Can and possibly are synonyms here, and I would think it's quite an open causal relationship, in that the author could be leaving it open to (1) x might not cause y, (2) x might cause y sometimes, (3) x doesn't have to cause y but it could, (4) y can occur without x having caused it. Is this an accurate assessment of "can/possibly" in terms of cause and effect?

Also, would I be right to say that probably is essentially the same as "can/possibly" but with a little more force? Functionally speaking though, the distinctions in a question will likely be minimal?

[Malila Robinson]

Hi Dianapoo,
In terms of likelihood there is a sort of ladder of certainty. So the bottom of the ladder would be-

Possibility: It is possible that something could happen. As in, the thing exists, so yes, it could happen, but who really knows. (So yes, you could say 'X can cause Y' is a possibility, and it would be such a loose causal relationship that it would likely be correlational rather than causal.)

The next step up would be-

Probability: It is probable that something could happen. As in, the thing exists and it is likely that the thing will happen. It is no longer a mere possibility, it is more likely that it will occur.

The top step would be-

Necessity/Certainty: It is necessary for that something will happen. Chance has been taken out of the equation, and the thing needs to happen.

To make it look more like a ladder:

[Necessity/Certainty]

[ Probability ]

[ Possibility ]

Ok my graphic art is terrible, but hopefully you get the logical picture.
Hope that helps!
-Malila