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Minimal Model Explanations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Robert W. Batterman  and
Collin C. Rice
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Abstract

This article discusses minimal model explanations, which we argue are distinct from various causal, mechanical, difference-making, and so on, strategies prominent in the philosophical literature. We contend that what accounts for the explanatory power of these models is not that they have certain features in common with real systems. Rather, the models are explanatory because of a story about why a class of systems will all display the same large-scale behavior because the details that distinguish them are irrelevant. This story explains patterns across extremely diverse systems and shows how minimal models can be used to understand real systems.

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Type
Research Article
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Philosophy of Science , Volume 81 , Issue 3 , July 2014 , pp. 349 - 376
Copyright
Copyright © The Philosophy of Science Association

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