Scientific Explanation
International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2nd edition, 2015, vol. 21, pp. 302-307
6 Pages Posted: 25 May 2016
Date Written: 2015
Abstract
There are three main approaches to scientific explanation in the philosophical literature. The unification approach claims that science explains by fitting the particular facts and events within a general theoretical framework. The mechanistic approach claims that science explains by identifying mechanisms. According to the manipulationist approach an explanation ought to be such that it can be used to answer a “what-if-things-had-been-different question.” The article examines whether these three approaches are compatible or not in the case of the social sciences, and it concludes by defending explanatory pluralism.
Keywords: Scientific Explanation, Pluralism, Mechanisms, Econometrics
JEL Classification: B4
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation