Structural-equations models (SEMs) are perhaps the most commonly used framework for modeling causality. However, as we show, naively extending this framework to infinitely many variables, which is necessary, for example, to model dynamical systems, runs into several problems. We introduce GSEMs (generalized SEMs), a flexible generalization of SEMs that directly specify the results of interventions, in which (1) systems of differential equations can be represented in a natural and intuitive manner, (2) certain natural situations, which cannot be represented by SEMs at all, can be represented easily, (3) the definition of actual causality in SEMs carries over essentially without change.
翻译:结构等同模型(SEMs)也许是最常用的因果关系模型框架。然而,正如我们所显示的那样,天真地将这一框架扩大到无限多变量,而这种变量对于模拟动态系统等必要的动态系统是必需的。 我们引入了GSEMs(SEMs),这是对SEMs的一种灵活的概括,直接规定了干预结果,其中(1) 差异方程系统可以自然和直觉的方式表示,(2) 某些无法由SEMs代表的自然情况可以很容易地被代表,(3) EMS中的实际因果关系定义基本上不作任何改变地延续。