Foundations of Science 10 (4):437-454 (2005)
Authors |
|
Abstract |
In the literature on scientific explanation two types of pluralism are very common. The first concerns the distinction between explanations of singular facts and explanations of laws: there is a consensus that they have a different structure. The second concerns the distinction between causal explanations and uni.cation explanations: most people agree that both are useful and that their structure is different. In this article we argue for pluralism within the area of causal explanations: we claim that the structure of a causal explanation depends on the causal structure of the relevant fragment of the world and on the interests of the explainer.
|
Keywords | Causal explanation contrastive explanation explanatory pluralism |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
DOI | 10.1007/s10699-005-5357-3 |
Options |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Download options
References found in this work BETA
Scientific Explanation and the Causal Structure of the World.Wesley C. Salmon - 1984 - Princeton University Press.
Aspects of Scientific Explanation and Other Essays in the Philosophy of Science.Carl Gustav Hempel - 1965 - New York: The Free Press.
Explanatory Unification and the Causal Structure of the World.Philip Kitcher - 1989 - In Philip Kitcher & Wesley Salmon (eds.), Scientific Explanation. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. pp. 410-505.
View all 14 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
The Causal Metaphor Account of Metaphysical Explanation.Jonathan L. Shaheen - 2017 - Philosophical Studies 174 (3):553-578.
Three Conceptions of Explaining How Possibly—and One Reductive Account.Johannes Persson - 2009 - In Henk W. de Regt (ed.), Epsa Philosophy of Science: Amsterdam 2009. Springer. pp. 275--286.
Explanations in Software Engineering: The Pragmatic Point of View. [REVIEW]Jan De Winter - 2010 - Minds and Machines 20 (2):277-289.
Causation, Unification, and the Adequacy of Explanations of Facts.Jeroen van Bouwel - 2009 - Theoria: Revista de Teoría, Historia y Fundamentos de la Ciencia 24 (3):301-320.
View all 7 citations / Add more citations
Similar books and articles
Assessing the Explanatory Power of Causal Explanations.Erik Weber & Jeroen Van Bouwel - 2007 - In Johannes Persson & Petri Ylikoski (eds.), Rethinking Explanation. Springer.
Teleological Explanations and Their Relation to Causal Explanation in Psychology.Elizabeth R. Valentine - 1988 - Philosophical Psychology 1 (1):61-68.
Understanding Science: Why Causes Are Not Enough.Ruth Berger - 1998 - Philosophy of Science 65 (2):306-332.
Models of Intentional Explanation.Robrecht Vanderbeeken - 2004 - Philosophical Explorations 7 (3):233 – 246.
Causal Explanation and Scientific Realism.Christopher Hitchcock - 1992 - Erkenntnis 37 (2):151 - 178.
The Role of Unification in Explanations of Facts.Erik Weber, Jeroen Van Bouwel & Merel Lefevere - 2010 - In Henk de Regt, Samir Okasha & Stephan Hartmann (eds.), EPSA Philosophy of Science: Amsterdam 2009. Springer.
Mental Models and Causal Explanation: Judgements of Probable Cause and Explanatory Relevance.Denis J. Hilton - 1996 - Thinking and Reasoning 2 (4):273 – 308.
A Defense of a Unificationist Theory of Explanation.Rebecca Schweder - 2005 - Foundations of Science 10 (4):421-435.
Analytics
Added to PP index
2009-01-28
Total views
134 ( #87,294 of 2,507,633 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
2 ( #277,140 of 2,507,633 )
2009-01-28
Total views
134 ( #87,294 of 2,507,633 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
2 ( #277,140 of 2,507,633 )
How can I increase my downloads?
Downloads