The Problem of Infinite Regress: A Stopping Rules Approach

How can social scientists uncover the root causes of contemporary outcomes? Many scholars have assumed that a problem associated with identifying root causes—the problem of infinite regress—poses a central impediment to this endeavor. However, few have attempted to clearly conceptualize infinite regress or offer more than solutions in passing. This article undertakes the challenge. I begin by conceptualizing infinite regress as the potentially endless cycle initiated when assessing the relative weight of proximate versus antecedent causes in a causal chain. Next, how do we weigh causes in such causal chains? I build on Mahoney, Kimball, and Koivu’s “sequence elaboration” method, and argue that this method is best suited to approach the problem. Yet, sequence elaboration cannot tell us when to stop our search. How do we know we have arrived at a root cause? I evaluate six potential “stopping rules” using various historical examples and suggest that three of these offer coherent possible solutions: the “critical juncture stopping rule,” the “necessary and sufficient cause stopping rule,” and the “mechanism stopping rule.”