Rice, Collin (2013) Moving Beyond Causes: Optimality Models and Scientific Explanation. Noûs, 49 (3).

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Abstract

A prominent approach to scientific explanation and modeling claims that for a model to provide an explanation it must accurately represent at least some of the actual causes in the event’s causal history. In this paper, I argue that many optimality explanations present a serious challenge to this causal approach. I contend that many optimality models provide highly idealized equilibrium explanations that do not accurately represent the causes of their target system(s). Furthermore, in many contexts, it is in virtue of their independence of causes that optimality models are able to provide a better explanation than competing causal models. Consequently, our account of explanation and modeling must expand beyond the causal approach.

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Item Type:	Published Article or Volume
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Rice, Collin collin.rice@colostate.edu
Keywords:	Explanation; Causation; Noncausal explanation
Subjects:	General Issues > Explanation General Issues > Models and Idealization
Depositing User:	Collin Rice
Date Deposited:	22 Aug 2025 14:26
Last Modified:	22 Aug 2025 14:26
Item ID:	26313
Journal or Publication Title:	Noûs
Publisher:	Wiley
Official URL:	https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/no...
Subjects:	General Issues > Explanation General Issues > Models and Idealization
Date:	2013
Volume:	49
Number:	3
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/26313

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