Cause is a mental invention, but not completely. "Causes are indeed made up by minds -- but only work in certain parts of certain worlds." What is a cause? First and foremost, a compact description. Such compactness is due to the nature of the world; effects are localized. "Why does a block retain its size and shape whenit is moved? It is because we're fortunate enough to live within a universe in which effects are localized. ... This can happen only in a universe whose force laws work in close accord with the `nearness' of time and space -- in other words, a universe in which entities that are far apart have much less effect on each other than ones that are close together. In worlds without constraints like that, there could be no things or causes for us to know."
(NB: This is bringing to mine Rosch's view of categories reflecting the structure of the world -- the idea that mental concepts (e.g., the key components -- the types -- of Jackendoff's conceptual structure) are shaped by natural constraints.)
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