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Single Idea 12315

[filed under theme 14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / j. Explanations by reduction ]

Full Idea

The powerful engine of my car can be explained by an examination of each of its parts, but it is not caused by them. They do not cause the engine; they constitute it.

Gist of Idea

We can explain by showing constitution, as well as showing causes

Source

Michael Stanford (Explanation: the state of play [1991], p.174)

Book Ref

'Cogito Magazine 05/3', ed/tr. Pyle,Andrew [Carfax 1991], p.174

A Reaction

[example from Ruben 1990:221] This could be challenged, since there is clearly a causal connection between the constitution and the whole. We distinguish engine parts which contribute to the power from those which do not.

The 14 ideas with the same theme [explaining by reveal grounding or foundations]:

16619 We observe qualities, and use 'induction' to refer to the substances lying under them [Gassendi]
15308 Science is the reduction of diverse forces and powers to a smaller number that explain them [Kant]
22646 We have a passion for knowing the parts of something, rather than the whole [James]
6552 You can only explain the qualities of large objects using entities which lack those qualities [Heisenberg]
20653 Six reduction levels: groups, lives, cells, molecules, atoms, particles [Putnam/Oppenheim, by Watson]
17075 Scientific explanation tends to reduce things to the unfamiliar (not the familiar) [Smart]
15310 Solidity comes from the power of repulsion, and shape from the power of attraction [Harré/Madden]
12315 We can explain by showing constitution, as well as showing causes [Stanford]
17088 Reducing one science to another is often said to be the perfect explanation [Ruben]
2396 Reductive explanation is not the be-all and the end-all of explanation [Chalmers]
7060 One form of explanation is by decomposition [Heil]
15059 Grounding is an explanation of truth, and needs all the virtues of good explanations [Fine,K]
13926 Best explanations, especially natural ones, need grounding, notably by persistent objects [Haslanger]
11053 Explanatory reduction is stronger than ontological reduction [Hanna]