Article
Causal and Mechanistic Explanations, and a Lesson from Ecology
Romanian Studies in Philosophy of Science
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
1-1-2015
Abstract
Jani Raerinne and Lindley Darden argue that causal claims are not sufficiently explanatory, and causal talk should be replaced with mechanistic talk. I examine several examples from ecological research, two of which rely on causal models and structural equation modeling, to show that the assertions of Raerinne and of Darden have to be reconsidered.
Inclusive pages
269-289
ISBN/ISSN
978-3-319-16654-4
Document Version
Postprint
Copyright
Copyright © 2015, Springer
Publisher
Springer
Peer Reviewed
Yes
Keywords
- Mechanisms,
- Mechanistic explanation,
- Causal explanation,
- Ecology,
- Causal models,
- Structural equation modeling
Disciplines
Citation Information
Viorel Pâslaru. "Causal and Mechanistic Explanations, and a Lesson from Ecology" Romanian Studies in Philosophy of Science Vol. 313 Iss. Part V (2015) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/viorel_paslaru/3/
The document available for download is the author's accepted manuscript, provided in compliance with publisher polices on self-archiving. Any work used from this resource must be cited appropriately. The version of record is available in academic libraries and from the publisher. Permission documentation is on file.
The publication is Volume 313 of the series Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science.