Saatsi, JT orcid.org/0000-0002-8440-8761 and French, S (2018) Symmetries and Explanatory Dependencies in Physics. In: Saatsi, J and Reutlinger, A, (eds.) Explanation Beyond Causation: Philosophical Perspectives on Non-Causal Explanations. Oxford University Press , Oxford, UK , pp. 185-205. ISBN 9780198777946
Abstract
Many important explanations in physics are based on ideas and assumptions about symmetries, but little has been said about the nature of such explanations. This chapter aims to fill this lacuna, arguing that various symmetry explanations can be naturally captured in the spirit of the counterfactual-dependence account of Woodward, liberalized from its causal trappings. From the perspective of this account symmetries explain by providing modal information about an explanatory dependence, by showing how the explanandum would have been different, had the facts about an explanatory symmetry been different. Furthermore, the authors argue that such explanatory dependencies need not be causal.
Metadata
Item Type: | Book Section |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Authors / Contributors 2018. This is an author produced version of a chapter published in Explanation Beyond Causation: Philosophical Perspectives on Non-Causal Explanations. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | symmetry; 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: | 15 May 2017 12:13 |
Last Modified: | 28 Jun 2020 00:38 |
Published Version: | https://global.oup.com/academic/product/explanatio... |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Oxford University Press |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:115810 |