What is social structural explanation? A causal account

Bibliographic Data

ID21364066
AuthorsLauren N Ro (0000-0003-0771-7189, Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science University of California Irvine USA, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume58
Issue1
Pages163-179
Publication date2024-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNoûs (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0029-4624 • E-ISSN: 1468-0068
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/nous.12446
OpenAlexW3207811467
LanguageEN
Citations received17
References cited38

Social scientists appeal to various “structures” in their explanations including public policies, economic systems, and social hierarchies. Significant debate surrounds the explanatory relevance of these factors for various outcomes such as health, behavioral, and economic patterns. This paper provides a causal account of social structural explanation that is motivated by Haslanger (2016). This account suggests that social structure can be explanatory in virtue of operating as a causal constraint, which is a causal factor with unique characteristics. A novel causal framework is provided for understanding these explanations–this framework addresses puzzles regarding the mysterious causal influence of social structure, how to understand its relation to individual choice, and what makes it the main explanatory (and causally responsible) factor for various outcomes

Appeal · Causal model · Causal structure · Constraint (computer-aided design) · Economics · Epistemology · Explanatory model · Political science · Positive economics · Relation (database) · Relevance (law) · Computer Science · Income, Poverty, and Inequality · Psychology · Social Psychology

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