more on this theme
|
more from this thinker
Single Idea 13067
[filed under theme 14. Science / B. Scientific Theories / 3. Instrumentalism
]
Full Idea
There is a centuries-old philosophical tradition, sometimes referred to by the name of 'instrumentalism', that has denied the claim that science has explanatory power. For the instrumentalists there are no scientific explanations.
Gist of Idea
For the instrumentalists there are no scientific explanations
Source
Wesley Salmon (Four Decades of Scientific Explanation [1989], 4.3)
Book Ref
Salmon,Wesley C.: 'Four Decades of Scientific Explanation', ed/tr. Humphreys,Paul [Pittsburgh 2006], p.132
A Reaction
[He quotes Coffa] Presumably it is just a matter of matching the world to the readings on the instruments, aiming at van Fraassen's 'empirical adequacy'. If there are no scientific explanations, does that mean that there are no explanations at all? Daft!
The
20 ideas
from 'Four Decades of Scientific Explanation'
13047
|
It is knowing 'why' that gives scientific understanding, not knowing 'that'
[Salmon]
|
13046
|
Scientific explanation is not reducing the unfamiliar to the familiar
[Salmon]
|
13045
|
Explanation at the quantum level will probably be by entirely new mechanisms
[Salmon]
|
13049
|
We must distinguish true laws because they (unlike accidental generalizations) explain things
[Salmon]
|
13051
|
Deductive-nomological explanations will predict, and their predictions will explain
[Salmon]
|
13050
|
The 'inferential' conception is that all scientific explanations are arguments
[Salmon]
|
13053
|
A law is not enough for explanation - we need information about what makes a difference
[Salmon]
|
13054
|
Correlations can provide predictions, but only causes can give explanations
[Salmon]
|
13055
|
Good induction needs 'total evidence' - the absence at the time of any undermining evidence
[Salmon]
|
13056
|
Statistical explanation needs relevance, not high probability
[Salmon]
|
13057
|
Think of probabilities in terms of propensities rather than frequencies
[Salmon]
|
13059
|
Ontic explanations can be facts, or reports of facts
[Salmon]
|
13058
|
Why-questions can seek evidence as well as explanation
[Salmon]
|
13060
|
Can events whose probabilities are low be explained?
[Salmon]
|
13061
|
Flagpoles explain shadows, and not vice versa, because of temporal ordering
[Salmon]
|
13062
|
Does an item have a function the first time it occurs?
[Salmon]
|
13064
|
The three basic conceptions of scientific explanation are modal, epistemic, and ontic
[Salmon]
|
13063
|
Explanations reveal the mechanisms which produce the facts
[Salmon]
|
13067
|
For the instrumentalists there are no scientific explanations
[Salmon]
|
13065
|
Understanding is an extremely vague concept
[Salmon]
|