The Deductive-Nomological Model of Explanation

Paper Summary:

This paper takes a look back at classical philosophy to determine the origins of the deductive-nomonological model. The paper looks at the evolutionary nature of the model, which proceeds from the skepticism predominant in the Middle Ages towards the universals of Aristotle. The paper goes on to discuss subsequent philosophies that questioned whether universal laws can be described successfully. The paper concludes with a look at the views of the deductive nomological model held by scientific realists, nominalists and defendants of the model.

From the Paper:

"The Deductive-Nomological model of explanation is a logical process that was developed after World War II by Carl Hempel to derive working scientific explanations from laws that are created from the regular observation of phenomena, which can then be used to successfully predict the subsequent re-application of these laws. These laws are, in effect, explanations of phenomena or theories, and by using such explanations to predict new events we can successfully prove their validity. This theory relies heavily on the empiricism of Locke and others, but seeks to modify it in order to facilitate its application in the statistical methodologies commonly employed in the social scientists by logical positivists. Its history can be traced back to classical philosophy, where we find the question of "universals," where it was questioned whether universal laws described events successfully."

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