Abstract |
In natural sciences, the most interesting and relevant questions are the so-called why-questions. There are several different approaches to why-questions and explanations in the literature, however, most of the literature deals with why-questions about particular events, such as ``Why did Adam eat the apple?''. Even the best known theory of explanation, Hempel's covering law model, is designed for explaining particular events. Here we only deal with purely theoretical why-questions about general phenomena of physics, for instance ``Why can no observer move faster than light?'' or ``Why are Kepler's laws valid?''. Here we are not going to develop a whole new theory of why-questions in physics. We will just touch upon some ideas and examples relevant to our subject.
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References found in this work BETA
Studies in the Logic of Explanation.Carl Gustav Hempel & Paul Oppenheim - 1948 - Philosophy of Science 15 (2):135-175.
Explanation and Scientific Understanding.Michael Friedman - 1974 - Journal of Philosophy 71 (1):5-19.
Studies in the Logic of Explanation.Carl G. Hempel & Paul Oppenheim - 1948 - Journal of Symbolic Logic 14 (2):133-133.
Mathematical Explanation and the Theory of Why-Questions.David Sandborg - 1998 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 49 (4):603-624.
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Citations of this work BETA
Using Mathematics to Explain a Scientific Theory.Michèle Friend & Daniele Molinini - 2016 - Philosophia Mathematica 24 (2):185-213.
A Geometrical Characterization of the Twin Paradox and its Variants.Gergely Székely - 2010 - Studia Logica 95 (1-2):161 - 182.
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2009-05-05
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46 ( #218,208 of 2,409,983 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
1 ( #541,494 of 2,409,983 )
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