Theories of Explanation by Joseph C. Pitt

ISBN: 9780195049718

Oxford University Press, USA | 24 March 1988

Paperback | 234 pages

Since the publication of Carl Hempel and Paul Oppenheim’s ground‑breaking work “Studies in the Logic of Explanation,” Theories of Explanation brings together classic and contemporary essays on the philosophy of explanation. This valuable collection allows readers to explore the major approaches to scientific explanation, including Hempel & Oppenheim’s original model, critical reactions from Michael Scriven and Wilfrid Sellars, and influential contributions by Wesley Salmon, Peter Railton, Bas C. van Fraassen, Michael Friedman, Philip Kitcher, and Peter Achinstein. Together, these essays chart how philosophers have analysed explanation as a central concept in science, illuminating different models, critiques, and extensions of explanatory theory.