Journal
PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
Volume 78, Issue 1, Pages 105-127Publisher
UNIV CHICAGO PRESS
DOI: 10.1086/658111
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Funding
- Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research [016.104.079]
- Tilburg University's Center for Logic and Philosophy of Science
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This article introduces and defends a probabilistic measure of the explanatory power that a particular explanans has over its explanandum. To this end, we propose several intuitive, formal conditions of adequacy for an account of explanatory power. Then, we show that these conditions are uniquely satisfied by one particular probabilistic function. We proceed to strengthen the case for this measure of explanatory power by proving several theorems, all of which show that this measure neatly corresponds to our explanatory intuitions. Finally, we briefly describe some promising future projects inspired by our account.
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