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Mechanisms are Real and Local

Williamson, Jon (2011) Mechanisms are Real and Local. In: Illari, Phyllis and Russo, Frederica and Williamson, Jon, eds. Causality in the Sciences. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 818-844. ISBN 978-0-19-957413-1. (doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199574131.003.0038) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:28619)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199574131.0...

Abstract

Mechanisms have become much-discussed, yet there is still no consensus on how to characterise them. In this paper, we start with something everyone is agreed on – that mechanisms explain – and investigate what constraints this imposes on our metaphysics of mechanisms. We examine two widely shared premises about how to understand mechanistic explanation: (1) that mechanistic explanation offers a welcome alternative to traditional laws-based explanation and (2) that there are two senses of mechanistic explanation that we call ‘epistemic explanation’ and ‘physical explanation’. We argue that mechanistic explanation requires that mechanisms are both real and local. We then go on to argue that real, local mechanisms require a broadly active metaphysics for mechanisms, such as a capacities metaphysics.

Item Type: Book section
DOI/Identification number: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199574131.003.0038
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General)
Q Science > Q Science (General)
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Arts and Humanities > School of Culture and Languages
Depositing User: Jon Williamson
Date Deposited: 20 Jan 2012 11:41 UTC
Last Modified: 09 Mar 2023 11:32 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/28619 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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