Counterfactual Accounts and Equilibrium Explanations
Résumé
What part should counterfactuals play in our scientific explanatory accounts? In this paper we examine James Woodward’s role of counterfactual explanation, Christopher Hitchcock and James Woodward’s view of counterfactual explanatory depth, and a possible extensions to the equilibrium explanation proposed by R.A. Fisher and Elliot Sober. In the argumentative portion of the paper, equilibrium explanation is examined and an attempt is made to bridge the two accounts.Mots-clés
Counterfactual, Equilibrium, DN Model, Scientific Explanation