Drift and "Statistically Abstractive Explanation.".

A hitherto neglected form of explanation is explored, especially its role in population genetics. "Statistically abstractive explanation" (SA explanation) mandates the suppression of factors probabilistically relevant to an explanandum when these factors are extraneous to the theoretical project bei...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Philosophy of Science Vol. 76; no. 4; pp. 464 - 488
Autor principal: Matthen, Mohan
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Cambridge University Press Oct2009
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:A hitherto neglected form of explanation is explored, especially its role in population genetics. "Statistically abstractive explanation" (SA explanation) mandates the suppression of factors probabilistically relevant to an explanandum when these factors are extraneous to the theoretical project being pursued. When these factors are suppressed, the explanandum is rendered uncertain. But this uncertainty traces to the theoretically constrained character of SA explanation, not to any real indeterminacy. Random genetic drift is an artifact of such uncertainty, and it is therefore wrong to reify it as a cause of evolution or as a process in its own right.