On Wednesday, January 9, 2019 at 11:48:55 AM UTC-7, Gerald Kelleher wrote:
cause and effect being the casualty in the mess.

Here you are getting this exactly wrong.

Empiricism and reducing the motions of the Solar System to the same physical laws
that would apply to a game of billiards... is precisely how to keep cause and
effect very well sorted out indeed.

John Savard