monokausal

Monokausal is an adjective used to describe explanations, etiologies, or accounts that attribute an outcome to a single cause. In contrast to multicausal or polycausal explanations, monocausal accounts identify one factor as the primary or sole driver in the explanation, while other factors may be acknowledged as background context or considered inconsequential for the specific claim.

The term is used across disciplines such as philosophy of science, epidemiology, criminology, sociology, and history. Monocausal explanations are often invoked to simplify analysis, to highlight a potential lever for intervention, or to test a specific causal hypothesis. They do not imply that no other factors exist, but rather that a particular factor is treated as the main or sole driver for the event under study.

Limitations and criticisms are common in discussions of monocausality. Complex phenomena frequently involve interacting causes, feedback effects, temporal sequences, and contextual influences that a monocausal account may overlook. Relying on monocausal explanations can lead to oversimplification, misattribution, or ineffective policy responses if essential interacting factors are ignored. In practice, researchers may present monocausal arguments with caveats, or alongside multicausal analyses that map the broader network of influences.

Related concepts include the notions of necessary and sufficient causes, and multicausality or polycausality. Monocausal claims are most credible when there is clear, direct, and exclusive evidence linking a single factor to the outcome.