Explanation and Understanding

Arnon Levy (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel)

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English

Routledge
30 June 2025

Philosophy: metaphysics & ontology; Philosophy: epistemology & theory of knowledge; Philosophy of science

Series: New Problems of Philosophy

Science has multiple goals: to describe the world, as it is now; to predict the future and to make inferences about the past. Science also aims to understand the world – to explain why it is the way it is. But what does it take to explain a phenomenon? How does science generate understanding and what does that take?

In this thorough and clearly written introduction to scientific explanation, Arnon Levy explores the following problems and questions:

the background to the topic of scientific explanation, particularly the questions of what an explanation is, what makes a good explanation and why seek them in the first place empiricism about explanation: Hempel’s deductive-nomological model and its problems unificationism about explanation: must good scientific explanations fit into an overall ‘explanatory store’? causation and explanation: Lewis’s description-based model, Woodward’s interventionist view and Strevens’s criterion of selection theory connections between explanation and understanding models, idealization and explanation non-causal explanation and explanation in non-scientific contexts the nature of understanding.

Additional features, such as chapter summaries, suggestions for further reading and a glossary, make this an excellent resource for students of philosophy of science, metaphysics and epistemology.

By: Arnon Levy (Hebrew University of Jerusalem Israel)
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
Weight: 410g
ISBN: 9781138700444
ISBN 10: 1138700444
Series: New Problems of Philosophy
Pages: 216
Publication Date: 30 June 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

1. Introduction: what this book (and isn’t) about 2. The history (and prehistory) of scientific explanation 3. The Move to Causal Accounts 4. Explanation and Difference-making 5. Production and Mechanistic Explanation 6. Models and Explanation 7. Beyond Causal Explanation 8. What is Understanding 9. Connecting understanding and explanation 10. Coda: the place of explanation. Glossary Index

Arnon Levy is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. He holds a PhD in philosophy and an MA in biology, both from Harvard University. His work covers explanation and understanding in science, the nature of modeling and scientific representation, and the role of science in society.