Scientific Explanation and the Causal Structure of the World / / Wesley C. Salmon.
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,...
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Superior document: | Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Princeton University Press eBook-Package Archive 1927-1999 |
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Place / Publishing House: | Princeton, NJ : : Princeton University Press, , [2020] ©1985 |
Year of Publication: | 2020 |
Language: | English |
Online Access: | |
Physical Description: | 1 online resource (321 p.) |
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Other title: | Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Scientific Explanation: Three General Conceptions -- Introduction -- Explanation versus Description -- Other Types of Explanation -- Laplacian Explanation -- Three Basic Conceptions -- An Outline of Strategy -- 2. Statistical Explanation and Its Models -- Inductive-Statistical Explanation -- The Statistical-Relevance Approach -- 3. Objective Homogeneity -- Epistemic Relativization -- Randomness -- Homogeneity -- Some Philosophical Applications -- Some Philosophical Reflections -- 4. The Three Conceptions Revisited -- The Epistemic Conception -- The Modal Conception -- The Ontic Conception -- How These Conceptions Answer a Fundamental Question -- Conclusions -- 5. Causal Connections -- Basic Problems -- Two Basic Concepts -- Processes -- The 'At-At' Theory of Causal Propagation -- 6. Causal Forks and Common Causes -- Conjunctive Forks -- Interactive Forks -- Relations between Conjunctive and Interactive Forks -- Perfect Forks -- The Causal Structure of the World -- Concluding Remarks -- 7. Probabilistic Causality -- The Sufficiency/Necessity View -- Statistical Relevance and Probabilistic Causality -- Causality and Positive Relevance -- Causal Processes and Propensities -- 8. Theoretical Explanation -- Causal Connections and Common Causes -- Explanatory versus Inferential Principles -- The Common Cause Principle and Molecular Reality -- The Explanatory Power of Theories -- Empiricism and Realism -- 9. The Mechanical Philosophy -- Logic versus Mechanisms -- Explanation in Quantum Mechanics -- Explanation and Understanding -- The Causal/Mechanical Model -- The Final Contrast -- Bibliography -- Index |
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Summary: | 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. |
Format: | Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web. |
ISBN: | 9780691221489 9783110442496 |
DOI: | 10.1515/9780691221489?locatt=mode:legacy |
Access: | restricted access |
Hierarchical level: | Monograph |
Statement of Responsibility: | Wesley C. Salmon. |