Explanation and determination

Gijsbers, V.A. (2011)

Doctoral Thesis

The author proposes a new theory of explanation that combines ideas about interventions, deduction, and contrastive explanation. The thesis also contains a refutation of unificationist theories; a series of arguments against inference to the best explanation; discussions of contrastive explanation and the role of indeterminism in explanation; and an analysis of the role of laws and causality in understanding.

• Unification
• Understanding
• Indeterminism
• Explanation
• Determination
• Abduction

• All authors: Gijsbers, V.A.
• Supervisor: Sundholm, B.G.
• Co-supervisor: McAllister, J.W.
• Qualification: Doctor (dr.)
• Awarding Institution: Faculty of Humanities, Leiden University
• Date: 2011-08-28
• ISBN (print): 9789053354452