Metaphysical explanation : The Kitcher picture

Journal article

Baron, Sam and Norton, James. (2021). Metaphysical explanation : The Kitcher picture. Erkenntnis. 86(1), pp. 187-207. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10670-018-00101-2
AuthorsBaron, Sam and Norton, James
Abstract

This paper offers a new account of metaphysical explanation. The account is modelled on Kitcher’s unificationist approach to scientific explanation. We begin, in Sect. 2, by briefly introducing the notion of metaphysical explanation and outlining the target of analysis. After that, we introduce a unificationist account of metaphysical explanation (Sect. 3) before arguing that such an account is capable of capturing four core features of metaphysical explanations: (1) irreflexivity, (2) non-monotonicity, (3) asymmetry and (4) relevance. Since the unificationist theory of metaphysical explanation inherits irreflexivity and non-monotonicity directly from the unificationist theory of scientific explanation that underwrites it, we focus on demonstrating how the account can secure asymmetry and relevance (Sect. 4).

Year2021
JournalErkenntnis
Journal citation86 (1), pp. 187-207
PublisherSpringer
ISSN0165-0106
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1007/s10670-018-00101-2
Scopus EID2-s2.0-85060170044
Open accessPublished as green open access
Research or scholarlyResearch
Page range187-207
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Open
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Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online16 Jan 2019
Publication process dates
Accepted24 Dec 2018
Deposited01 Jul 2022
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