Proximate and ultimate causation

In order to explain the genuine cause of an effect, one would have to satisfy adequacy conditions, which include, among others, the ability to distinguish between: One famous example of the importance of this is the Duhem–Quine thesis, which demonstrates that it is impossible to test a hypothesis in isolation, because an empirical test of the hypothesis requires one or more background assumptions.

Several philosophers of science, such as Lipton, argue that contrastive explanations are able to detect genuine causes.

[1] An example of a contrastive explanation is a cohort study that includes a control group, where one can determine the cause from observing two otherwise identical samples.

Distal causation: explanation of human social behaviour by considering the larger context in which individuals carry out their actions.

Thus, while individuals occupy roles and statuses relative to each other, it is the social structure and institutions in which these exist that are the ultimate cause of behaviour.