Covering Law Explanation
The logical-empiricist account of explanation. The explanandum, or
the high probability of the explanandum, must be validly deduced
from premises including at least one law of nature.
Two basic types: Deductive-Nomological and
Inductive-Statistical.
Deductive-Nomological
A model for the explanation of deterministic events. The
explanandum (thing to be explained) must be the conclusion of an
argument, the premises of which must essentially include a law of
nature.
Literature
First presented in Hempel and
Oppenheim 1948 'Studies in the Logic of Explanation'.
Main important development in Hempel 1965b 'Aspects of
Scientific Explanation'.
Inductive-Statistical
A model for the explanation of indeterministic events. The
argument, which must involve a law of nature as an essential
premise, must lead to the conclusion that the explanandum was
extremely likely.
Literature
First presented in Hempel
1965b 'Aspects of Scientific Explanation'.
Objections
There is a good summary of all the main objections and objectors in
Salmon 1990 Four
Decades of Scientific Explanation, chapters 1-3.
Issues
Structural Identity Thesis
The claim that explanations and predictions have the same
structure: an explanation is a prediction made after the fact.
Literature
Stated in Hempel 1965b,
pp364-76 and 406-10.
Criticised in Scheffler 1981 The
Anatomy of Inquiry, chapter 1, sections 1-5, and Scriven 1962
'Explanations, Predictions, and Laws'.
It is often possible to deduce a fact from facts that do not seem
to explain it. How can Hempel's model cope with this?
Literature
Hempel's approach to the problem is found in Hempel 1964 'Postscript
(1964) to Studies in the Logic of Explanation' and Hempel 1965b, section 2.1.
Many of the problems are raised in Salmon 1990, section
2.3.
Can Covering Law models handle explanations that invoke purposes?
Literature
Hempel 1959 'The Logic
of Functional Analysis' is the first discussion of these issues.
It is developed further in Cohen 1978 'Functional
Explanation: In General'.
The Inductive-Statistical model deals with this, but has been found
unsatisfactory in some respects.
Literature
Coffa 1974 is one of the
first criticisms of the IS model in particular.
Railton 1978 and Railton 1981 present a
Deductive-Nomological account of probabilistic explanation.
Copyright David Chart 1997