How Does It Work
The Search for Explanatory Mechanisms
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5774085 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mario Bunge (McGill University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2004 |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 182-210 |
| Publication date | 2004-05-27 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Philosophy of the Social Sciences (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0048-3931 • E-ISSN: 1552-7441 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0048393103262550 |
| OpenAlex | W2015544292 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 152 |
| References cited | 25 |
This article addresses the following problems: What is a mechanism, how can it be discovered, and what is the role of the knowledge of mechanisms in scientific explanation and technological control? The proposed answers are these. A mechanism is one of the processes in a concrete system that makes it what it is - for example, metabolism in cells, interneuronal connections in brains, work in factories and offices, research in laboratories, and litigation in courts of law. Because mechanisms are largely or totally imperceptible, they must be conjectured. Once hypothesized they help explain, because a deep scientific explanation is an answer to a question of the form, "How does it work, that is, what makes it tick-what are its mechanisms?" Thus, by contrast with the subsumption of particulars under a generalization, an explanation proper consists in unveiling some lawful mechanism, as when political stability is explained by either coercion, public opinion manipulation, or democratic participation. Finding mechanisms satisfies not only the yearning for understanding, but also the need for control
Coercion (linguistics · Cognitive science · Control (management) · Democracy · Epistemology · Generalization · Law and economics · Mechanism (biology) · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Work (physics) · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Law · Philosophy · Philosophy and History of Science · Psychology
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Function and Functionalism
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Rethinking Mechanistic Explanation
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| Unique citing works | 152 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 6,91 |
| Citation span | 2004 - 2026 (23) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | Yes |
| Citation types | Neutral: 152 |