Causation and Explanation (Central Problems of Philosophy) - Softcover

Psillos, Stathis

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1902683420 ISBN 13: 9781902683423

Publisher: Routledge, 2002

Synopsis

What is the nature of causation? How is causation linked with explanation? And can there be an adequate theory of explanation? These questions and many others are addressed in this unified and rigorous examination of the philosophical problems surrounding causation, laws and explanation. Part 1 of this book explores Hume's views on causation, theories of singular causation, and counterfactual and mechanistic approaches. Part 2 considers the regularity view of laws and laws as relations among universals, as well as recent alternative approaches to laws. Part 3 examines the issues arising from deductive-nomological explanation, statistical explanation, the explanation of laws and the metaphysics of explanation. Accessible to readers of all levels, this book provides an excellent introduction to one of the most enduring problems of philosophy.

About this title

Review:

"There is no better introduction to the issues than this, and it will certainly become a standard course text and reference work. Psillos is to be congratulated for writing an exellent book." - Metascience "A valuable text for anyone embarking on serious study of the subject matter of causation, laws and explanation." - International Journal of Philosophical Studies "Psillos has full command of the literature and explains the links between the issues masterfully. He gets involved with topics of current controversy and is prepared to take sides but does so with an eye to introducing readers to the central issues and explaining the subject to non-experts." - David Papineau, King's College London

Synopsis:

This text introduces the major philosophical debates surrounding the concepts of causation and explanation. In particular, it explores the connections between the two concepts and the role of causation in explanation. What is the nature of causation? Is it a relation between events? Or is it a process? Is it an observable relation? Explanation has typically been thought of as a kind of argument but do they have to be so? If not, then what are they? By centering the discussion around the issues and controvasies, this text addresses these, and many other questions, beginning with Hume's reductive account of causation and Humean and non-Humean accounts, examining the Carnap-Hempel empiricist approach, the laws of nature, the unification arguments of Friedman and Kitcher and the works of their critics.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1902683420
• ISBN 13: 9781902683423
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336