Full Idea
The primary aim of science is to explain what happens, not just to describe it.
Gist of Idea
Science aims to explain things, not just describe them
Source
Brian Ellis (The Metaphysics of Scientific Realism [2009], 2)
Book Reference
Ellis,Brian: 'The Metaphysics of Scientific Realism' [Acument 2009], p.25
A Reaction
This I take to be a good motto for scientific essentialism. Any scientist who is happy with anything less than explanation is a mere journeyman, a servant in the kitchens of the great house of science.