Why do all three criteria need to be addressed for causality to be considered?

All three criteria—correlation, temporal precedence, and ruling out alternative explanations—must be addressed to establish causality because they together ensure a robust connection between the cause and effect. Correlation indicates a relationship, temporal precedence confirms that the cause precedes the effect, and ruling out alternative explanations eliminates confounding factors that could falsely suggest a causal link. Without satisfying all three, one cannot confidently assert that one variable directly causes changes in another. This comprehensive approach minimizes the risk of misinterpretation and enhances the validity of causal claims.