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Full-Text Articles in History of Philosophy

Causal And Mechanistic Explanations, And A Lesson From Ecology, Viorel Pâslaru Dec 2015

Causal And Mechanistic Explanations, And A Lesson From Ecology, Viorel Pâslaru

Viorel Pâslaru

Jani Raerinne and Lindley Darden argue that causal claims are not sufficiently explanatory, and causal talk should be replaced with mechanistic talk. I examine several examples from ecological research, two of which rely on causal models and structural equation modeling, to show that the assertions of Raerinne and of Darden have to be reconsidered.


Causal And Mechanistic Explanations, And A Lesson From Ecology, Viorel Pâslaru Jan 2015

Causal And Mechanistic Explanations, And A Lesson From Ecology, Viorel Pâslaru

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Jani Raerinne and Lindley Darden argue that causal claims are not sufficiently explanatory, and causal talk should be replaced with mechanistic talk. I examine several examples from ecological research, two of which rely on causal models and structural equation modeling, to show that the assertions of Raerinne and of Darden have to be reconsidered.