Explanation and understanding

Author(s)

• Wright, G. H. von (Georg Henrik)

Bibliographic Information

Explanation and understanding

by Georg Henrik von Wright

（Routledge library editions, . History and philosophy of science ; v. 34）

Routledge, 2009

• : hbk

Note

Reprint. Originally published: London : Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1971

Includes bibliographical references (p. 207-222) and indexes

ISBN for subseries: 9780415420297, 0415420296

Description and Table of Contents

Description

This volume distinguishes between two main traditions in the philosophy of science - the aristotelian, with its stress on explanation in terms of purpose and intentionality, and the galilean, which takes causal explanation as primary. It then traces the complex history of these competing traditions as they are manifested in such movements as positivism, idealism, Marxism and contemporary linguistic analysis. Hempels's theory of scientific explanation, the claims of cybernetics the rise of an analytic philosophy of action and the revival of hermenuetics are all discussed. The volume also deals with causal explanation, intentionality and teleological explanation, and explanation in history and the social sciences. The author concludes that explanation of human actions cannot be reduced to simple causality, and discusses the implications of this conclusion for the disciplines of history and sociology.

Table of Contents

Preface I: Two Traditions II: Causality and Causal Explanation III: Intentionality and Teleological Explanation IV: Explanation in History and the Social Sciences

by "Nielsen BookData"

• NCID: BA87314293
• ISBN:
  • 9780415470216
• Country Code: uk
• Title Language Code: eng
• Text Language Code: eng
• Place of Publication: London
• Pages/Volumes: xvii, 230 p.
• Size: 24 cm
• Classification:
  • DC22 : 121
• Subject Headings:
  • LCSH : Explanation
  • LCSH : Comprehension (Theory of knowledge)
• Parent Bibliography ID:
  • BA62797390