 At least until recently philosophical discussion has been unsympathetic to manipulability theories: two standard complaints have been that manipulability theories are unilluminatingly circular and that they lead to a conception of causation that is unacceptably anthropocentric or at least insufficiently general in the sense that it is linked much too closely to the practical possibility of human manipulation (see, e.g., Hausman 1986, 1998). Both objections seem prima facie plausible. Suppose that \(X\) is a variable that takes one of two different values, 0 and 1, depending on whether some event of interest occurs. Then for an event or process \(M\) to qualify as a manipulation of \(X\), it would appear that there must be a causal connection between \(M\) and \(X\): to manipulate \(X\), one must cause it to change in value. How then can we use the notion of manipulation to provide an account of causation? Moreover, it is uncontroversial that causal relationships can obtain in circumstances in which manipulation of the cause by human beings is not practically possible—think of the causal relationship between the gravitational attraction of the moon and the motion of the tides or causal relationships in the very early universe. How can a manipulability theory avoid generating a notion of causation that is so closely tied to what humans can do that it is inapplicable to such cases?