ENGLISH

The Nature of Explanation

By Peter Achinstein

Book information

Year
1985
ISBN
9780195037432, 9781423758273, 019503743X, 0195032152, 9780195032154
LCC
Q175
Open Library ID
OL14959080M
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
20 MB (21368346 bytes)
Pages
394\398
Scanned
yes
Time added
2011-06-04 13:46:07

Description

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.

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