Full Idea
A 'contrastive explanation' explains why one thing happened but not another.
Gist of Idea
Contrastive explanations say why one thing happened but not another
Source
Alexander Bird (Philosophy of Science [1998], Ch.2)
Book Reference
Bird,Alexander: 'Philosophy of Science' [UCL Press 2000], p.78
A Reaction
If I explain why the ship sank, is this contrastive, or just causal, or both? Am I explaining why it sank rather than turned into a giraffe? An interesting concept, but I can't see myself making use of it.