Counter Countermathematical Explanations.

Autor: Kasirzadeh, Atoosa
Předmět:
Zdroj: Erkenntnis; Aug2023, Vol. 88 Issue 6, p2537-2560, 24p
Abstrakt: Recently, there have been several attempts to generalize the counterfactual theory of causal explanations to mathematical explanations. The central idea of these attempts is to use conditionals whose antecedents express a mathematical impossibility. Such countermathematical conditionals are plugged into the explanatory scheme of the counterfactual theory and—so is the hope—capture mathematical explanations. Here, I dash the hope that countermathematical explanations simply parallel counterfactual explanations. In particular, I show that explanations based on countermathematicals are susceptible to three problems counterfactual explanations do not face. These problems seriously challenge the prospects for a counterfactual theory of explanation that is meant to cover mathematical explanations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Databáze: Complementary Index