What can polysemy tell us about theories of explanation?

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    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 languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)41-56
    Number of pages16
    JournalEuropean Journal for Philosophy of Science
    Volume7
    Early online date30 Mar 2016
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Jan 2017

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