Causality and Explanation [Paperback]

Wesley C. Salmon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 22, 1998

For over two decades Wesley Salmon has helped to shape the course of debate in philosophy of science. He is a major contributor to the philosophical discussion of problems associated with causality and the author of two influential books on scientific explanation. This long-awaited volume collects twenty- six of Salmon's essays, including seven that have never before been published and others difficult to find. Part I comprises five introductory essays that presuppose no formal training in philosophy of science and form a background for subsequent essays. Parts II and III contain Salmon's seminal work on scientific explanation and causality. Part IV offers survey articles that feature advanced material but remain accessible to those outside philosophy of science. Essays in Part V address specific issues in particular scientific disciplines, namely, archaeology and anthropology, astrophysics and cosmology, and physics.
Clear, compelling, and essential, this volume offers a superb introduction to philosophy of science for nonspecialists and belongs on the bookshelf of all who carry out work in this exciting field. Wesley Salmon is renowned for his seminal contributions to the philosophy of science. He has powerfully and permanently shaped discussion of such issues as lawlike and probabilistic explanation and the interrelation of explanatory notions to causal notions. This unique volume brings together twenty-six of his essays on subjects related to causality and explanation, written over the period 1971-1995. Six of the essays have never been published before and many others have only appeared in obscure venues. The volume includes a section of accessible introductory pieces, as well as more advanced and technical pieces, and will make essential work in the philosophy of science readily available to both scholars and students.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Invariably stimulating and frequently brilliant, [the essays] develop a powerful realist conception of scientific explanation--in which probabilistic and causal relations play starring roles--as well as a distinctive "process-based" account of causality. Salmon's skillful elaboration of these and other, closely-related themes makes the volume essential reading for philosophers of science interested in explanation, causation, and their interrelationships."--Philosophy of Science

"A rich collection of interesting papers. Since it holds a number of introductory pieces along with advanced essays and review articles, the volume will be accessible to a broad audience and will work well in philosophy of science courses. Useful to all those interested in the topic, from students to professionals, this overdue collection of papers by a major figure in the field will be an essential addition to the collections of all philosophers of science."--Lawrence Sklar, University of Michigan

"...Salmon has been exploring the nature of scientific understanding for his long professional life, and in these wise, beautifully written essays he advances the explanation of scientific explanation yet a little more....A very illuminating work, highly recommended."--Choice

About the Author

Wesley C. Salmon is at University of Pittsburgh.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (January 22, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195108647
• ISBN-13: 978-0195108644
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,402,417 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars state of the art -- understanding an indeterministic world, March 6, 2002

By 

R. Hutchinson "autonomeus" (a world ruled by fossil fuels and fossil minds) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Causality and Explanation (Paperback)

If you were forced to rely on only one book on the philosophy of science today (2002), this would be the one. A collection of 26 essays, CAUSALITY AND EXPLANATION represents the state of the art. Salmon dedicates the book to Carl G. Hempel, who developed the deductive-nomological, or covering law model of scientific explanation. Clearly, then, Salmon is no post-Kuhnian epistemological radical. There is progress beyond Hempel, but it is not in the social constructionist direction. Not for Salmon, anyway, and not for me either. Rather, it points in the direction of probabilistic, stochastic, explanation replacing the vestiges of Laplacian determinism. Many of the essays are quite dense, but the book contains a Key of sorts, in the form of three essays that are grouped as "Concise Overviews." Read these first and the rest makes much more sense. Salmon is an analytical philosopher, and analytical philosophy is a tradition that values clarity of expression.

This book is a marvelous accomplishment. It has proved quite useful in clarifying my thinking as I try to teach sociology undergraduates the scientific method, particularly on the distinction between deterministic and probabilistic causation. It is truly sad that it is not read by everyone who ever runs into Thomas Kuhn and the postmodern vector that he inspired.