Multiple causation theory

One variation of the Multiple Causation Theory is R. J. Firenzie s Theory of Accident Causation. Firenzie s theory is based on interaction among three components person, machine, and environment. Human variables of information, decisions, and perception of risks combine with machine hazards and environmental factors affecting the likelihood of an accident. 

Let us briefly look at the contrast between the multiple causation theory and om too rarrow interpretation of the domino theory. We shah look at a common accident a person falls off a stepladder. If we inveshgate this accident using some cmrent accident investigahon forms, we are asked to idenhfy one act or one condihon ... 

Explain the basic premise of any multiple causation accident theory. 

Multiple Causation Accident Theories Multiple Factors Theory... 

The theory of multiple causation must be considered when investigating accidents. 

Today, we know that behind every accident there he maty contributing factors, causes, and subcauses. The theory of multiple causation is that these factors combine together in random fashion, causing accidents. If this is tme, om investigation of accidents ought to identify some of these. 

A part of the following overview is adapted from the booklet, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.1 For in-depth information on the physical and medical aspects of MCS and theories of causation, please refer to books recommended in Appendix C and Appendix D. 

Analysis, that can assist with the identihcation of causal factors. The concepts of incident causation encompassed in these tools are fundamental to the majority of investigation methodologies. (See Chapter 3 for information about the Domino Theory, System Theory, and HBT Theory.) The simplest approach involves reviewing each unplanned, unintended, or adverse item (negative event or undesirable condition) on the timeline and asking, Would the incident have been prevented or mitigated if the item had not existed If the answer is yes, then the item is a causal factor. Generally, process safety incidents involve multiple causal factors. 

The design of most process plants relies on redundant safety features or layers of protection, such that multiple layers must fail before a serious incident occurs. Barrier analysis ) (also called Hazard-Barrier-Target Analysis, HBTA) can assist the identification of causal factors by identifying which safety feature(s) failed to function as desired and allowed the sequence of events to occur. These safety features or barriers are anything that is used to protect a system or person from a hazard including both physical and administrative layers of protection. The concepts of the hazard-barrier-target theory of incident causation are encompassed in this tool. (See Chapter 3.)... 

In this chapter, I will argue for three claims, which together offer positive support for a nonreductivist view of mental causation. First, 1 will defend what John Norton has called a material theory of induction. This type of view, which has been endorsed by multiple philosophers, holds that successful inductive inferences rely on having the appropriate background assumptions and empirical knowledge in the relevant domain of inquiry. 

Aecepting nonreductive materialism gets us what we want and need out of a theory of mental causation. We can have sufficient causation at the physical level and causation in virtue of irreducible mental properties, without any sort of problematic overdetermination. We can account for both the multiple realizability and the context dependence of many mental properties. And we can account for why mental explanations often seem to offer us better predictive and explanatory power than lower level physical ones. Mental explanations work because menial properties are causal properties. 

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