What I’m arguing against is the form of the argument you’re making when you say:
> If the data here is correct and inflammation is a better indicator of heart disease than cholesterol levels, it should raise questions whether cholesterol levels are correlative rather than causal.
But, as with the asbestos and smoking example, I don’t think an argument with this structure is valid. What I’m arguing against is your claim that the existence of one exposure/outcome relationship with a stronger association entails casting doubt on other exposures’ relationship with the same outcome.
Does that make sense, and do you have a good argument as to why we should believe that it casts doubt?
> If the data here is correct and inflammation is a better indicator of heart disease than cholesterol levels, it should raise questions whether cholesterol levels are correlative rather than causal.
But, as with the asbestos and smoking example, I don’t think an argument with this structure is valid. What I’m arguing against is your claim that the existence of one exposure/outcome relationship with a stronger association entails casting doubt on other exposures’ relationship with the same outcome.
Does that make sense, and do you have a good argument as to why we should believe that it casts doubt?