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Causal Reasoning · Free
Causal Reasoning Analyzer
A structured walkthrough for John Stuart Mill's five methods of causal inference. Enter the phenomenon you're investigating, the candidate factors, and the cases you observed; the tool identifies which factors satisfy each method's structural criterion (Agreement, Difference, Joint, Concomitant Variation) and surfaces the appropriate caveats. The Method of Residues is included for reference; its application requires manual judgment beyond what the structural data here can provide.
Used in: Inductive Logic. Mill's methods are the historical foundation of inductive causal reasoning. The contemporary tools — controlled trials, regression, causal graphs — are extensions of the same logical structure.
Setup
What might be causing it?
List every factor you have data on. Mill's methods can only evaluate what you give them.
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What did you observe?
Each row is one case where you observed the factors and the phenomenon together. The methods compare across rows to identify patterns.
| Case name | (unnamed) | (unnamed) | (phenomenon) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mill's methods were formalized by John Stuart Mill in the 19th century as the structure of inductive causal inference. They remain the basis for thinking about observational evidence, including the design of natural experiments and matched-pairs studies. The contemporary tools — controlled trials, regression analysis, causal graphs — are extensions of the same logical structure.