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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Description
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
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.