A defense of a unificationist theory of explanation
Foundations of Science 10 (4):421-435 (2005)
Abstract
This paper defends a unificationist theory of explanation. I first explore the notion of understanding entrenched by the unificationist. Then I present an overview of various kinds of causal statements and explanations. It is claimed that only genuine causal law statements have explanatory power. Finally, I attempt to fit causal explanations into the unificationist theory of explanation. In this way, I try to provide an account of how causal explanations provide understanding of the phenomena that they explain.DOI
10.1007/s10699-004-5250-5
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Citations of this work
Grounding Functionalism and Explanatory Unificationism.Alexios Stamatiadis-bréhier - 2022 - Journal of the American Philosophical Association:1-21.
References found in this work
Scientific Explanation and the Causal Structure of the World.Wesley C. Salmon - 1984 - Princeton University Press.
Aspects of scientific explanation.Carl G. Hempel - 1965 - In Philosophy and Phenomenological Research. Free Press. pp. 504.
Explanation and scientific understanding.Michael Friedman - 1974 - Journal of Philosophy 71 (1):5-19.