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Causation, Unification, and the Adequacy of Explanations of Facts

Weber, Erik and Van Bouwel, Jeroen (2009) Causation, Unification, and the Adequacy of Explanations of Facts. THEORIA. An International Journal for Theory, History and Foundations of Science, 24 (3). pp. 301-320. ISSN 2171-679X

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Abstract

Pluralism with respect to the structure of explanations of facts is not uncommon. Wesley Salmon, for instance, distinguished two types of explanation: causal explanations (which provide insight in the causes of the fact we want to explain) and unification explanations (which fit the explanandum into a unified world view). The pluralism which Salmon and others have defended is compatible with several positions about the exact relation between these two types of explanations. We distinguish four such positions, and argue in favour of one of them. We also compare our results with the views of some authors who have recently written on this subject.


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Item Type: Published Article or Volume
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Weber, ErikErik.Weber@UGent.be
Van Bouwel, JeroenJeroen.VanBouwel@UGent.be
Additional Information: ISSN: 0495-4548 (print)
Keywords: Causal explanation, explanatory pluralism, unification
Depositing User: Users 15304 not found.
Date Deposited: 24 Feb 2014 22:35
Last Modified: 11 Mar 2014 21:53
Item ID: 10353
Journal or Publication Title: THEORIA. An International Journal for Theory, History and Foundations of Science
Publisher: Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea / Universidad del País Vasco
Official URL: http://www.ehu.es/ojs/index.php/THEORIA/article/vi...
DOI or Unique Handle: 10.1387/theoria.698
Date: 2009
Page Range: pp. 301-320
Volume: 24
Number: 3
ISSN: 2171-679X
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/10353

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