Introduction: Levels of Explanation

This chapter introduces the overall aims and themes of this volume and relates them to the individual chapters. It first presents and compares different conceptions of levels of explanation which have figured in philosophy of science and in philosophy more broadly, distinguishing explanatory levels from related accounts of levels including compositional levels and levels of organization. It then identifies some themes which unite the chapters of the volume: the function of explanatory levels in scientific and philosophical reasoning, the implications of using models which span different explanatory levels, and the prospects for different levels of explanation of the phenomenon of levels of explanation itself. It concludes with summaries of the individual chapters, highlighting their connections to the broader themes of the volume.