Two recent articles, one by Vandenbroucke, Broadbent and Pearce (henceforth VBP) 1 and
the other by Krieger and Davey Smith (henceforth KDS), 2 criticize what these two sets of …

I present an overview of two methods controversies that are central to analysis and
inference: That surrounding causal modeling as reflected in the “causal inference” …

Three assumptions sufficient to identify the average causal effect are consistency, positivity,
and exchangeability (ie,“no unmeasured confounders and no informative censoring,” or …

The requirement for framing all causal questions as well-defined interventions is being
promoted in the causal inference literature within epidemiology. One can consider this …

Abstract 'Causal inference', in 21st century epidemiology, has notably come to stand for a
specific approach, one focused primarily on counterfactual and potential outcome reasoning …

Vandenbroucke et al. 1's critique of the potential outcomes framework does in fact set up a
'straw man': the 'Restricted Potential Outcomes Approach', a term not used by anyone but …

This chapter explores the idea that causal inference is warranted if and only if the
mechanism underlying the inferred causal association is identified. This mechanistic stance …

It is perhaps not too great an exaggeration to say that Judea Pearl's work has had a
profound effect on the theory and practice of epidemiology. Pearl's most striking contribution …

Causal inference based on a restricted version of the potential outcomes approach
reasoning is assuming an increasingly prominent place in the teaching and practice of …

Purpose In this manuscript, I share insights into causal concepts that emerged from creating
and refining a simple example originally designed for teaching causal epidemiologic …