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Explanation and inferentialism

An anti-realist solution to the paradox of explanation

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35588/cc.v5i1.6588

Keywords:

Explanation's Paradox, inferentialism, explanation, economic models, paradox

Abstract

In this paper, I propose a possible anti-realist solution to the paradox of explanation. This proposal is in line with the instrumentalist position of Reiss (2012b, 2013) but goes further: a normative inferentialist position of explanation is proposed. 

First, I will show some fundamental aspects of inferentialism in the context of explanation, and then, I will show how an inferentialist position regarding paradox of explanation reduces to accepting the following three propositions: 1. models are true in the sense of true explanations, 2. models explain, and 3. only true explanations explain. This expresses a solution to the paradox insofar as it is perfectly possible to accept each of the three propositions.

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References

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Published

2024-12-23

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How to Cite

Explanation and inferentialism: An anti-realist solution to the paradox of explanation. (2024). Culturas Científicas, 5(1), 32-39. https://doi.org/10.35588/cc.v5i1.6588