Abstract
Philosophical accounts of scientific explanation are broadly divided into ontic and epistemic views. This paper explores the idea that the lexical ambiguity of the verb to explain and its nominalisation supports an ontic conception of explanation. I analyse one argument which challenges this strategy by criticising the claim that explanatory talk is lexically ambiguous, 375–394, 2012). I propose that the linguistic mechanism of transfer of meaning, 109–132, 1995) provides a better account of the lexical alternations that figure in the systematic polysemy of explanatory talk, and evaluate the implications of this proposal for the debate between ontic and epistemic conceptions of scientific explanation.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 41-56 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | European Journal for Philosophy of Science |
Volume | 7 |
Early online date | 30 Mar 2016 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jan 2017 |
Profiles
-
Maria Serban
- School of Politics, Philosophy and Area Studies - Lecturer in Philosophy
- Philosophy - Lecturer in Philosophy
Person: Academic, Teaching & Research