Structural explanations: impossibilities vs failures

被引:0
|
作者
Barrantes, Manuel [1 ]
机构
[1] Calif State Univ Sacramento, 3022 Mendocino Hall, Sacramento, CA 95819 USA
关键词
Scientific explanation; Structural explanation; Non-causal explanation; Mathematical explanation; MATHEMATICAL EXPLANATIONS;
D O I
10.1007/s11229-023-04121-6
中图分类号
N09 [自然科学史]; B [哲学、宗教];
学科分类号
01 ; 0101 ; 010108 ; 060207 ; 060305 ; 0712 ;
摘要
The bridges of Konigsberg case has been widely cited in recent philosophical discussions on scientific explanation as a potential example of a structural explanation of a physical phenomenon. However, when discussing this case, different authors have focused on two different versions, depending on what they take the explanandum to be. In one version, the explanandum is the failure of a given individual in performing an Eulerian walk over the bridge system. In the other version, the explanandum is the impossibility of performing an Eulerian walk over the bridges. The goal of this paper is to show that only the latter version amounts to a real case of a structural explanation. I will also suggest how to fix the first version, and show how my remarks apply to other purported cases of structural explanations.
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页数:15
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