Brasas: Let me ask this: do you see a logical possibility that my inaction AND Jane's action, both cause her harm? Both are necessary and not sufficient causes. Why do you see it as being an EITHER / OR situation?
Let's not talk about blame yet ok? Blame implies moral responsbility. For now let's talk causation only. We'll get to blame and morals soon enough as we clear the ground of semantic obstacles.
I'm also ignoring your other hypotheticals for now because I think they muddy the waters. Only for now... I have no problem coming back to them later.
And gnostic, if there is one thing I really respect in you, even more than your stoic ascetism, it's your willingness to question. Cheers.
Ignoring my other hypothetical? You mean the statement that I cannot cause harm to myself by ignoring others? I thought since you do not response to that you already realize that the statement is true.
Now to the hard part.
Sunshinecorp has given a simplification
Correlation does not imply causation If we nuke correlation out of the dictionary, the terms we have to fall back on is a
very negligible cause. So negligible that one can say it does not cause the hurt at all.
Before I go deeper in that, I want to set the context straight. It is not ignoring Jane that Jane is hurt. Jane is hurt because she did not see you act in a way that cater to her.
Lets say you do not ignore her but take action by rejecting her. Will she see that and feel happy?
Lets say you accept her love and do lover stuff to her, but still see another girlfriend or marry another women, will she see that and feel happy?
She is hurt because she need to see you acting in a way that cater to her, by not satisfying her need that she created herself, she is hurt.
If we are going to say you by not acting in a way that cater to her have a
non negligible cause of her hurt.
We can also say light cause her hurt. Because what she sees is a reflection of light and by
not seeing a combination of light that cater to her she is hurt.
We can also say vibration cause her hurt. The sound "I love you" is a vibration of the air molecules traveling to reach her ear. By
not hearing a certain vibration that cater to her she is hurt.
We can also say electrochemistry cause her hurt. The reflection of light is picked up by the retina and in turn convert to electrochemistry to her brain, likewise vibration is picked up by the eardrum and converted into electrochemistry to send to her brain. By not receiving a
combination of electrochemistry that cater to her cause her hurt.
We can say being alive cause her hurt, because being alive can she
receive electrochemistry that does not cater to her. Being dead she will not receive electrochemistry that does not cater to her.
We can say her parents cause her hurt, because they brought her alive to this world and able to
receive electrochemistry that does not cater to her.
We can then say her ancestor cause her hurt, by bring in her parents to this world alive which in turn bring her alive, hence
expose to elements that does not cater to her.
We can say society cause her hurt, by enabling her ancestor to be alive and well enough to bring in her parents alive and then her, Hence
expose to elements that does not cater to her.
We can say nature / god / material / earth cause her hurt, by enabling human society which in a chain of events make her alive. Hence
expose to elements that does not cater to her.
Finally we can say the universe and everything in existent, imaginary or real cause her hurt.
Rather then using negligible cause, Correlation is a easier word.
Fuff, such a long wall of text, damn you Sunshinecorp for leaving the work to me.