 Scotus seems to regard this proposition as self-evidently true. But as Nicholas of Autrecourt (1299–1369) would point out, it merely begs the question (Thijssen 1987: 249). In any case, Nicholas writes, if Scotus means by a cause “that which brought an effect in a great many instances in the past and will do so in the future,” then there is a problem. For “even if something has brought about an effect in a great many instances, it is still not certain it will continue to do so” (Nicholas of Autrecourt EO ll. 44–47; Thijssen 1987: 249 n. 44). So we cannot, with certainty, form general statements on the basis of the kind of observations to which Scotus appeals. (This is, of course, the very problem of induction to which Sextus Empiricus had referred  [sect. 3.3].)  Even if we could formulate such general statements, we could not be certain that they embody causal claims.