syykohtaiset

Syykohtaiset is a Finnish adjective meaning relating to or pertaining to a cause, i.e., describing causal relationships or factors rather than mere associations. It is used to characterize connections in which one element is understood to bring about or influence another.

The term is commonly found in scientific and academic writing across disciplines such as philosophy of science, epidemiology, sociology, and psychology. It appears in phrases like syykohtainen vaikutus (causal effect), syykohtaiset tekijät (causal factors), and syykohtainen selitys (causal explanation). In many contexts, syykohtainen is used as a near-synonym of kausaalinen, though some fields prefer kausaalinen when emphasizing the scientific or mathematical notion of causality, while syykohtainen can foreground the link to a specific cause.

Usage and nuance: syykohtainen indicates a cause-and-effect interpretation, in contrast to terms describing correlation or coincidence. Distinctions are common in discussions of causal inference, where researchers differentiate between causal relationships and spurious or non-causal associations. Writers may explain a phenomenon by identifying syykohtaiset tekijät, rather than merely noting patterns or correlations.

Etymology: the word derives from the Finnish syy meaning cause and kohtainen meaning pertaining to or related to, with the plural form syykohtaiset used to modify plural nouns.

See also: kausaalisuus, kausaalinen, syy-seuraus-suhde, korrelaatio.