CF Dictionary · Knowledge & Epistemology
Explanation
An idea that says why something is the case. CF, with CR, treats explanations as central to scientific knowledge.
An explanation is an idea that says why something is the case, not just that it is the case. "It rained because humid air cooled and condensed" is an explanation. "It rained" is a description.
CR's view
CR and CF treat good explanations as central to scientific knowledge:
- A good explanation should be hard to vary: small changes should break it.
- A good explanation should make testable predictions.
- A good explanation should unify disparate phenomena.
CF's view
CF extends this:
- An explanation is itself an IGC — it must be non-refuted for its goal (e.g. "explain why X happens").
- A refuted explanation is wrong; you need a better one or a different question.
- Explanations can be evaluated against counter-examples and tests.
Why explanations matter
Explanations are the form in which knowledge survives criticism. A list of facts can be replaced by another list; an explanation that fits the facts and predicts new ones is harder to refute.
"We should value explanations and solutions to problems." — criticalfallibilism.com