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The philosophical structure of historical explanation [electronic resource] / Paul A. Roth

Author:
Roth, Paul Andrew, 1948-
Published:
Evanston, Illinois : Northwestern University Press, [2020]
Physical Description:
xvi, 188 pages ; 23 cm
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Contents:
Preface -- Reviving analytic philosophy of history -- Problems for narrative explanations: the case of history -- The pasts -- Essentially narrative explanations -- The silence of the norms -- Kuhn's narrative construction of normal science -- Methodological naturalism and its consequences -- Conclusion.
Summary:
"This book develops a philosophical structure for historical explanation that resolves disputes about the scientific status of history that have persisted since the nineteenth century. It does this by showing why historical explanations must take the form of a narrative and by making their logic explicit. The books formulates a unique positive account of the logic of narrative explanations. This logic reveals how the rational evaluation of narrative explanation becomes possible. The book also develops a nonrealist (irrealist) metaphysics and epistemology of history--that is, it argues that there exists no one fixed past but many pasts. It includes a novel reading of Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, displaying how Kuhn offers a narrative explanation of theory change in science. The book situates narrative explanations within a naturalistic framework. Naturalism regards all canons of rational inquiry as evolving and contingent. The book also argues for the general philosophical significance of historical explanation. The first four chapters defuse methodological and the metaphysical objections to narrative explanations. The final three chapters explore how narrative explanations relate to other sciences. It will be of interest to researchers in historiography, theory of history, philosophy of history, philosophy of science, philosophy of social science, and epistemology"--Provided by publisher.
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ISBN:
9780810140875 (paper text : alk. paper)
9780810140882 (cloth text : alk. paper)
9780810140899 (e-book)
Bibliography Note:
Includes bibliographical references (173-183) and index.
View MARC record | catkey: 41945357