The Illusion of Causality

Albert Michaud argued that we see causality, just as directly as we see color. To make his point he created episodes in which a black square drawn on paper is seen in motion. It comes into contact with another square, which immediately begins to move. If the second object starts moving instantly, they describe it as having been launched by the first. Six-month-old infants see the sequence of events as a cause-effect scenario and indicate surprise when the sequence is altered. We are evidently ready from birth to have impressions of causality, which do not depend on reasoning about patterns of causation. They are products of System 1.