A reason for explanation
explanations provide stable reasons
pp. 165-196
in: Wolfgang Spohn, Brian Skyrms, Bas C. van Fraassen (eds), Existence and explanation, Berlin, Springer, 1991Abstrakt
Why ask "Why?' Whence our drive for explanation? This is a bewildering question because it is hard to see what an answer might look like. I well remember having learnt in undergraduate courses that explanation is the supreme goal of science. So who would dare ask for more? Some fortunately did.1 One prominent answer is that (scientific) explanation yields (scientific) understanding; and surely, we want to understand things. It is this answer which this paper is about.