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3 - Specific Kinds of Scientific Explanations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 June 2022

Kevin McCain
Kevin McCain
Affiliation:
University of Alabama, Birmingham
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Summary

Although it is helpful to appreciate the general nature of explanations, we might reasonably want more than this. As this book is part of the Understanding Life series, we may expect to delve into details about kinds of explanations that are specific to the life sciences.

Keywords

Scientific explanationunderstandingscientific knowledgeidealizationscientific lawscientific theoryscientific modelpredictionexperimental explanationshistorical explanationscertaintytheoretical virtuessimplicityexplanatory powerconservatisminference to the best explanation
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Chapter
Information
Understanding How Science Explains the World , pp. 29 - 42
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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