Overdetermination

Overdetermination occurs when a single-observed effect is determined by multiple causes, any one of which alone would be sufficient to account for ('determine') the effect. That is, there are more causes present than are necessary to cause the effect. In the philosophy of science, this means that more evidence is available than is necessary to justify a conclusion. Overdetermination is in contrast to underdetermination, when the number or strength of causes is insufficient. The term 'overdetermination' (German: Überdeterminierung) was also used by Sigmund Freud as a key concept in his psychoanalysis. Freud wrote in The Interpretation of Dreams that many features of dreams were usually 'overdetermined,' in that they were caused by multiple factors in the life of the dreamer, from the 'residue of the day' (superficial memories of recent life) to deeply repressed traumas and unconscious wishes, these being 'potent thoughts'. Freud favored interpretations which accounted for such features not only once, but many times, in the context of various levels and complexes of the dreamer's psyche.