Instinct as some kind of urge or driving force is exemplified by three very different kinds of motivational theory: Freudian psychoanalysis; inherent purpose, as defined by American psychologist William McDougall; and causal conceptions, as proposed by classical ethology.
Causal conceptions acknowledge the impact of both social relationships and socio-historical circumstances on agents' capacities.
"It is life we are studying in biology, and not phenomena which can be represented by causal conceptions of physics and chemistry" Haldane 1931, p. 28).
A typology was developed to capture the range of women's causal conceptions of cervical cancer, HPV and the relationship between the two, with a specific focus on sexual activity as a risk factor.
But as one commentator has noted, Malebranche has a normative, rather than a causal-psychological conception, of clear and distinct perceptions (Lennon 2000).
Possible mediating factors considered to be on the causal pathway between conception group and childhood asthma included gestational age (in weeks); delivery type (vaginal, instrumental or Caesarean section); breastfeeding (coded as 'none'<4'<4 months', '>4 months', included as there is an evidence of a protective effect).
Other criticisms challenge applications of particular conceptions or theories of information, including applications of the causal and teleosemantic conceptions.
In conjunction with the standard conception, this causal theory provides us with a theory of action, which has been the standard theory in the contemporary philosophy of mind and action (see also the entry on action).
The "in itself/in something else" aspect of these two definitions captures Descartes's conception of causal independence, while the "conceived through itself/through something else" aspect refers to Descartes's conceivability-apart criterion for ontological independence.
This is a generative conception of causality, in which causal powers reside not just in the HIT system, but also in the organisational communication relationships and social-material structures of the wider environment [ 17].
