In philosophy a proximate cause is an event which is closest, or immediately responsible, for causing some observed result. This exists in contrast to a higher-level ultimate cause (or distal cause) which is usually thought of as the "real" reason something occurred. For other uses, see Law (disambiguation). ... In the law, a proximate cause is an event sufficiently related to a legally recognizable injury to be held the cause of that injury. ... For other uses, see Philosophy (disambiguation). ...

• Example: Why did the ship sink?
  • Proximate cause: Because it was holed beneath the waterline, water entered the hull and the ship became heavier than the water which supported it, so it couldn't stay afloat.
  • Ultimate cause: Because the ship hit a rock which tore open the hole in the ship's hull.

In most situations, an ultimate cause may itself be a proximate cause for a further ultimate cause. Hence we can continue the above example as follows:

• Example: Why did the ship hit the rock?
  • Proximate cause: Because the ship failed to change course to avoid it.
  • Ultimate cause: Because the ship was under autopilot and the autopilot received bad data from the GPS.

Separating proximate from ultimate causations frequently leads to better understandings of the events and systems concerned.

In ethology

In ethology, the study of animal behavior, causation can be considered in terms of these two mechanisms. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

• Proximate causation: Explanation of an animal's behavior based on trigger stimuli and internal mechanisms.
• Ultimate causation: Explanation of an animal's behavior based on evolution - why this specific trait was favored by natural selection.

These can be further divided, for example proximate causes may be given in terms of local muscle movements or in terms of developmental biology (see Tinbergen's four questions). This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about evolution in biology. ... For other uses, see Natural selection (disambiguation). ... Views of a Foetus in the Womb, Leonardo da Vinci, ca. ... When asked questions of animal behavior such as why animals see, even grade school children can answer that vision helps animals find food and avoid danger. ...