Date: 10 April 2019
Time: 12:45 - 13:30 (Lunch available from 12:35)
Room: RA 1501 (Ravelijn)
Speaker: Joris Mooij (UvA)
Title: Causal Constraints Model
Authors: Tineke Blom & Joris Mooij
Abstract:
Structural Causal Models (SCMs) provide a popular causal modeling framework. In this work, we show that SCMs are not flexible enough to give a complete causal representation of dynamical systems at equilibrium. Instead, we propose a generalization of the notion of an SCM, that we call Causal Constraints Model (CCM), and prove that CCMs do capture the causal semantics of such systems. We show how CCMs can be intuitively derived from differential equations and initial conditions and illustrate our ideas further on a simple but ubiquitous (bio)chemical reaction. Our framework also allows us to model functional laws, such as the ideal gas law, in a sensible and intuitive way