Article/Publication Details

Non-causal Explanation: Hempel’s Legacy and its Modern Versions

(Original title: Nekauzálna explanácia: Hempelovo dedičstvo a jeho moderné podoby)
Makovník, Dalibor
Filozofia, 2021, vol. 76, No 10, pp. 752 - 765.
Language: Slovak
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.31577/filozofia.2021.76.10.2

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Abstract

This paper not only summarizes Hempel`s analysis of the D-N model that shows how it is possible for the covering-law model to provide both a causal account of particular facts and a non-casual one, but also offers four prominent examples of non-causal explanation. Subsequently a detailed analysis of the examples shows that there is a common denominator between these examples: the presence of a law that describes an empirical system in its atemporal state. But the paper also shows what differences there are in the applicability of the laws in the given explanations. Finally, it reviews the evolution of the conception of non-causal explanation with respect to the discussed examples.

Keywords

D-N model of explanation, Empirical regularity, Explanatory rele-vance, Non-causal explanation, Scientific law, Temporal changes in a physical system

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