Saatsi, J orcid.org/0000-0002-8440-8761 and Jansson, L (2019) Explanatory Abstractions. British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 70 (3). pp. 817-844. ISSN 0007-0882
Abstract
A number of philosophers have recently suggested that some abstract, plausibly non-causal and/or mathematical explanations explain in a way that is radically different from the way causal explanations explain. While causal explanations explain by providing information about causal dependence, some abstract explanations allegedly explain in a way tied to the independence of the explanandum from the micro-details or causal laws, for example. We oppose this recent trend to regard abstractions as explanatory in some sui generis way, and argue that a prominent account of causal explanation can be naturally extended to capture explanations that radically abstract away from micro-physical and causal-nomological details. To this end, we distinguish different senses in which an explanation can be more or less abstract, and analyse the connection between an explanation's abstractness and its causal power. According to our analysis, abstract explanations have much in common with counterfactual causal explanations.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of British Society for the Philosophy of Science. All rights reserved. This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article published in The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. The version of record; Saatsi, J and Jansson, L (2017) Explanatory Abstractions. British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. ISSN 0007-0882 is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/bjps/axx016. |
Keywords: | Scientific explanation |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science (Leeds) > School of Philosophy (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 08 Sep 2016 11:40 |
Last Modified: | 30 Nov 2019 01:39 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Oxford University Press |
Identification Number: | 10.1093/bjps/axx016 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:104345 |