On the Logic of Why-Questions
PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1984:168 - 176 (1984)
| Abstract | The paper explores two ways in which the logic of questions might aid in the understanding of explanations. First, the "logic" of question-answer sequences imposes constraints on what answers are acceptable for an inquirer. Secondly, there are field- specific type-requirements built into questions. There is always more to a question than meets the potential answerer's ear. It is argued that, since there are nonepistemic presuppositions of why-questions, there are no interesting necessary and sufficient conditions for all explanations. Explanations are a family of concepts tied together by the thin thread of the logic of question-answer sequences. | |||||||||
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