Ross, Lauren N. (2023) Causal Constraints in the Life and Social Sciences. [Preprint]

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Abstract

This paper examines constraints and their role in scientific explanation. Common views in the philosophical literature suggest that constraints are non-causal and that they provide non-causal explanations. While much of this work focuses on examples from physics, this paper explores con- straints from other fields, including neuroscience, physiology, and the social sciences. I argue that these cases involve constraints that are causal and that provide a unique type of causal explanation. This paper clarifies what it means for a factor to be a constraint, when such constraints are causal, and how they figure in scientific explanation.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Ross, Lauren N. rossl@uci.edu
Keywords:	Causation, Explanation, Constraints
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Biology General Issues > Causation General Issues > Explanation
Depositing User:	Lauren N. Ross
Date Deposited:	23 Dec 2023 23:17
Last Modified:	23 Dec 2023 23:17
Item ID:	22891
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Biology General Issues > Causation General Issues > Explanation
Date:	2023
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/22891

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