Scientific Explanation

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Four Decades Of Scientific Explanation

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Author : Wesley C. Salmon
language : en
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press
Release Date : 2006-06-15

Four Decades Of Scientific Explanation written by Wesley C. Salmon and has been published by University of Pittsburgh Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2006-06-15 with Philosophy categories.

As Aristotle stated, scientific explanation is based on deductive argument-yet, Wesley C. Salmon points out, not all deductive arguments are qualified explanations. The validity of the explanation must itself be examined. Four Decades of Scientific Explanation provides a comprehensive account of the developments in scientific explanation that transpired in the last four decades of the twentieth century. It continues to stand as the most comprehensive treatment of the writings on the subject during these years.Building on the historic 1948 essay by Carl G. Hempel and Paul Oppenheim, "Studies in the Logic of Explanation," which introduced the deductive-nomological (D-N) model on which most work on scientific explanation was based for the following four decades, Salmon goes beyond this model's inherent basis of describing empirical knowledge to tells us "not only what, but also why." Salmon examines the predominant models in chronological order and describes their development, refinement, and criticism or rejection.Four Decades of Scientific Explanation underscores the need for a consensus of approach and ongoing evaluations of methodology in scientific explanation, with the goal of providing a better understanding of natural phenomena.

Scientific Explanation

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Author : Erik Weber
language : en
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Release Date : 2014-07-08

Scientific Explanation written by Erik Weber and has been published by Springer Science & Business Media this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2014-07-08 with Science categories.

When scientist investigate why things happen, they aim at giving an explanation. But what does a scientific explanation look like? In the first chapter (Theories of Scientific Explanation) of this book, the milestones in the debate on how to characterize scientific explanations are exposed. The second chapter (How to Study Scientific Explanation?) scrutinizes the working-method of three important philosophers of explanation, Carl Hempel, Philip Kitcher and Wesley Salmon and shows what went wrong. Next, it is the responsibility of current philosophers of explanation to go on where Hempel, Kitcher and Salmon failed. However, we should go on in a clever way. We call this clever way the pragmatic approach to scientific explanation and clarify briefly what this approach consists in. The third chapter (A Toolbox for Describing and Evaluating Explanatory Practices) elaborates the pragmatic approach by presenting a toolbox for analysing scientific explanation. In the last chapter (Examples of Descriptions and Evaluations of Explanatory Practices) the approach is illustrated with real-life examples of scientists aiming at explaining. This book can be used as a textbook for intermediate philosophy of science courses and is also valuable as “suggested reading” for introductory courses in philosophy of science. The way the book is set up makes it an excellent study and research guide for advanced (MA and PhD) students that work on the topic of scientific explanation. Finally, it is a handy source and reference book for senior researchers in the field of scientific explanations and – more generally – for all philosophers of science. ​

Scientific Explanation

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Author : Philip Kitcher
language : en
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
Release Date : 1962-05-25

Scientific Explanation written by Philip Kitcher and has been published by U of Minnesota Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 1962-05-25 with Science categories.

Scientific Explanation was first published in 1962. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions. Is a new consensus emerging in the philosophy of science? The nine distinguished contributors to this volume apply that question to the realm of scientific explanation and, although their conclusions vary, they agree in one respect: there definitely was an old consensus. Co-editor Wesley Salmon's opening essay, "Four Decades of Scientific Explanation," grounds the entire discussion. His point of departure is the founding document of the old consensus: a 1948 paper by Carl G. Hempel and Paul Oppenheim, "Studies in the Logic of Explanation," that set forth, with remarkable clarity, a mode of argument that came to be known as the deductive-nomological model. This approach, holding that explanation dies not move beyond the sphere of empirical knowledge, remained dominant during the hegemony of logical empiricism from 1950 to 1975. Salmon traces in detail the rise and breakup of the old consensus, and examines the degree to which there is, if not a new consensus, at least a kind of reconciliation on this issue among contemporary philosophers of science and clear agreement that science can indeed tell us why. The other contributors, in the order of their presentations, are: Peter Railton, Matti Sintonen, Paul W. Humphreys, David Papineau, Nancy Cartwright, James Woodward, Merrilee H. Salmon, and Philip Kitcher.

Aspects Of Scientific Explanation

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Author : Carl Gustav Hempel
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 1970

Aspects Of Scientific Explanation written by Carl Gustav Hempel and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 1970 with Philosophy categories.

Scientific Explanation And Understanding

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Author : Nicholas Rescher
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 1983

Scientific Explanation And Understanding written by Nicholas Rescher and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 1983 with Science categories.

Scientific Explanation

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Author : Anthony Francis Heath
language : en
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Release Date : 1981

Scientific Explanation written by Anthony Francis Heath and has been published by Oxford University Press, USA this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 1981 with Science categories.

Scientific Explanation And The Causal Structure Of The World

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Author : Wesley C. Salmon
language : en
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Release Date : 1984-12-21

Scientific Explanation And The Causal Structure Of The World written by Wesley C. Salmon and has been published by Princeton University Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 1984-12-21 with Biography & Autobiography categories.

The philosophical theory of scientific explanation proposed here involves a radically new treatment of causality that accords with the pervasively statistical character of contemporary science. Wesley C. Salmon describes three fundamental conceptions of scientific explanation--the epistemic, modal, and ontic. He argues that the prevailing view (a version of the epistemic conception) is untenable and that the modal conception is scientifically out-dated. Significantly revising aspects of his earlier work, he defends a causal/mechanical theory that is a version of the ontic conception. Professor Salmon's theory furnishes a robust argument for scientific realism akin to the argument that convinced twentieth-century physical scientists of the existence of atoms and molecules. To do justice to such notions as irreducibly statistical laws and statistical explanation, he offers a novel account of physical randomness. The transition from the "reviewed view" of scientific explanation (that explanations are arguments) to the causal/mechanical model requires fundamental rethinking of basic explanatory concepts.

The Nature Of Explanation

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Author : Peter Achinstein
language : en
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Release Date : 1985-10-31

The Nature Of Explanation written by Peter Achinstein and has been published by Oxford University Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 1985-10-31 with Science categories.

Offering a new approach to scientific explanation, this book focuses initially on the explaining act itself. From that act, a "product" emerges: an explanation. To understand what that product is, as well as how it can be evaluated in the sciences, reference must be made to the concept of the explaining act. Following an account of the explaining act, its product, and the evaluation of explanations, the theory is brought to bear on these issues: Why have the standard models of scientific explanation been unsuccessful, and can there be a model of the type sought? What is causal explanation, and must explanation in the sciences be causal? What is a functional explanation? The "illocutionary" theory of explanation developed at the outset is used in discussing these issues, and contrasting philosophical viewpoints are assessed.

The Structure Of Science

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Author : Ernest Nagel
language : en
Publisher: New York : Harcourt, Brace & World
Release Date : 1961

The Structure Of Science written by Ernest Nagel and has been published by New York : Harcourt, Brace & World this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 1961 with Philosophy categories.

Analyzes the nature and functions of scientific explanation, and the logical structure of scientific concepts.

Explanation Laws And Causation

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Author : Wei Wang
language : en
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Release Date : 2017-04-21

Explanation Laws And Causation written by Wei Wang and has been published by Taylor & Francis this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2017-04-21 with Philosophy categories.

Scientific explanation, laws of nature, and causation are crucial and frontier issues in the philosophy of science. This book studies the complex relationship between the three concepts, aiming to achieve a holistic synthesis about explanation–laws–causation. By reviewing Hempel's scientific explanation models and Salmon's three conceptions – the epistemic, modal, and ontic conception – the book suggests that laws are essential to explanation and that our understanding of laws will help solve the problems of the latter. Concerning the nature of laws, this book tackles both the problems of regularity approach and necessitarian approach. It also proposes that the ontological order of explanation should be from events (or processes) to causation, then to regularity (laws), and finally to science system, but the epistemological order should be from science system to laws to explanation and causation. In addition, this book examines the legitimacy of ceteris paribus laws, the connection between explanation and reduction, the relation between explanation and interpretation, and some other issues closely related to explanation–laws–causation. This book will attract scholars and students of philosophy of science, natural sciences, social sciences, etc.