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Drawing a Line Somewhere: Proximate Cause

INTRODUCTION

One of the nice things about the inch is that virtually everyone who has anything to do with one agrees about what it is. While it is a purely human construct, an idea, we have achieved such wide consensus about its meaning that we can use the term effectively without wasting energy arguing about its definition. This is probably true for the vast majority of concepts we manipulate through language. If it weren't, language wouldn't communicate much and people would rebel and vote in a new one.

Unfortunately, proximate cause is the exception that proves the rule (please excuse the pun). A great deal of confusion persists about what the term “proximate cause” is meant to convey. Students find this very frustrating: Justifiably, you would like some answers, some solid ground on which to base an understanding of a difficult concept.

Yet, if exact definition eludes us (as it does, of course, for other useful concepts, like “negligence” or “justice”) we can still achieve a working knowledge of the problem sufficient for most purposes. This chapter seeks such a working knowledge of “proximate cause.”

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