The case for regularity in mechanistic causal explanation

被引:20
作者
Andersen, Holly [1 ]
机构
[1] Simon Fraser Univ, Dept Philosophy, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
关键词
Mechanisms; Causation; Regularity; Explanation; THINKING; EVOLUTIONARY;
D O I
10.1007/s11229-011-9965-x
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
How regular do mechanisms need to be, in order to count as mechanisms? This paper addresses two arguments for dropping the requirement of regularity from the definition of a mechanism, one motivated by examples from the sciences and the other motivated by metaphysical considerations regarding causation. I defend a broadened regularity requirement on mechanisms that takes the form of a taxonomy of kinds of regularity that mechanisms may exhibit. This taxonomy allows precise explication of the degree and location of regular operation within a mechanism, and highlights the role that various kinds of regularity play in scientific explanation. I defend this regularity requirement in terms of regularity's role in individuating mechanisms against a background of other causal processes, and by prioritizing mechanisms' ability to serve as a model of scientific explanation, rather than as a metaphysical account of causation. It is because mechanisms are regular, in the expanded sense described here, that they are capable of supporting the kinds of generalizations that figure prominently in scientific explanations.
引用
收藏
页码:415 / 432
页数:18
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