The Chances of Explanation: Causal Explanation in the Social, Medical, and Physical Sciences

Paul Humphreys

Published by Princeton University Press 1989

The Chances of Explanation

Causal Explanation in the Social, Medical, and Physical Sciences

Paul Humphreys

Volume 1051 in the series Princeton Legacy Library

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400860760

Overview
Contents

About this book

This book provides a post-positivist theory of deterministic and probabilistic causality that supports both quantitative and qualitative explanations. Features of particular interest include the ability to provide true explanations in contexts where our knowledge is incomplete, a systematic interpretation of causal modeling techniques in the social sciences, and a direct realist view of causal relations that is compatible with a liberal empiricism. The book should be of wide interest to both philosophers and scientists.

Originally published in 1989.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Reviews

A careful and sophisticated attempt to explicate the notion of explanation, especially in the probabilistic or statistical context.---Lawrence Sklar, The American Scientist

"The Chances of Explanation—which is, incidentally, extraordinarily clever and interesting—ought to be put into the hands of any social scientist who engages in probabilistic explanation of any sort."—Alan Ryan, Princeton University

"This work is by far the best thing written on probabilistic causality and probabilistic explanation to date."—Wesley C. Salmon, University of Pittsburgh

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
PREFACE Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	ix
CHAPTER ONE. Traditional Causation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	3
CHAPTER TWO. Probabilistic Causation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	22
CHAPTER THREE. Cause and Chance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	61
CHAPTER FOUR. Scientific Explanations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	98
APPENDIX ONE. Covariance Measures Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	143
APPENDIX TWO. Extension of the Basic Quantitative Theory Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	145
APPENDIX THREE. Transitivity and Negative Links Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	153
REFERENCES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	158
INDEX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	167

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