Abstract

The article tries to systematize various ideas of causality. The principle of causality sounds as follows:a) in metaphysics: “If the accidental being exist, there is the necessary being, too”;b) in philosophy of nature: “Every changable being hat its cause” or else “Every event has its cause”;c) in physics: “Every phenomenon has its cause”;The above principles point to the unity of the real world (no object is entirely isolated). Modern physics does not reject these principles.While oriented to the future, causality is called determinism:a) philosophical: “the same elements of the material world in the same circumstances always cause the same effects”;b) physical: “If the state Si and the apriopriate law L are well known, the state S2 can be calculated for any moment in the future”.Though physical indeterminism has to be admitted in micirophysics, philosophical determinism can be accepted in the inanimate world. Moreover, philosophical determinism explains the effective use of the inductive method in physics.The theory of information suggests that the information itself (a nonmaterial element) can also be considered a cause.