Full Idea
The general principle of explanatory exclusion states that two or more complete and independent explanations of the same event or phenomenon cannot coexist.
Gist of Idea
Explanatory exclusion: there cannot be two separate complete explanations of a single event
Source
Jaegwon Kim (Mechanism, purpose and explan. exclusion [1989], 3)
Book Reference
Kim,Jaegwon: 'Supervenience and Mind' [CUP 1993], p.250
A Reaction
This is a rather optimistic view of explanations, with a strong element of reality involved. I would have thought there were complete explanations at different 'levels', which were complementary to one another.