Scientific explanation and scientific structuralism

Mauro Dorato

Laura Felline

pp. 161-176

in: Alisa Bokulich, Peter Bokulich (eds), Scientific structuralism, Berlin, Springer, 2011

Abstract

An interpretation of the formalism of quantum mechanics that can be regarded as uncontroversial is currently not available. Consequently, philosophers have often contrasted the poor explanatory power of quantum theory to its unparalleled predictive capacity. However, the admission that our best theory of the fundamental ­constituents of matter cannot explain the phenomena it describes represent a strong argument against the view that explanation is a legitimate aim of science, and this conclusion is regarded by the vast majority of philosophers as unacceptable.