Dispositions, explanation, and behavior

Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy 24 (2):205 – 227 (1981)
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Abstract

According to the theory of dispositions here defended, to have a disposition is to have some (non-dispositional) property that enters into a law of a certain form. The theory does not have the crucial difficulty of the singular material implication account of dispositions, but at the same time avoids the unfortunate notion of 'reduction sentences'. It is further argued that no dispositional explanation is one of the covering-law type; but the theory shows how, for any dispositional explanation! To construct a potential explanation of the covering-law type. The theory can also be applied fruitfully to human behavior, especially with respect to the issues of reasons and causes and of' rational' explanation. The success of the applicability of this theory of dispositions is further evidence of its adequacy.

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Citations of this work

I. Addis on analysing disposition concepts.Fred Wilson - 1985 - Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy 28 (1-4):247-260.
Dispositional mental states: Chomsky and Freud.Laird Addis - 1988 - Zeitschrift Für Allgemeine Wissenschaftstheorie 19 (1):1-17.
Human action and the Humean universe.Laird Addis - 1998 - Philosophia 26 (1-2):23-40.

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References found in this work

Counterfactuals.David K. Lewis - 1973 - Malden, Mass.: Blackwell.
Conjectures and Refutations.K. Popper - 1963 - Les Etudes Philosophiques 21 (3):431-434.
Testability and meaning.Rudolf Carnap - 1936 - Philosophy of Science 3 (4):419-471.
Studies in Logical Theory.Robert Stalnaker - 1968 - Oxford: Blackwell.

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