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Causal and Mechanistic Explanations, and a Lesson from Ecology

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Romanian Studies in Philosophy of Science

Part of the book series: Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science ((BSPS,volume 313))

Abstract

Jani Raerinne and Lindley Darden argue that causal claims are not sufficiently explanatory, and causal talk should be replaced with mechanistic talk. I examine several examples from ecological research, two of which rely on causal models and structural equation modeling, to show that the assertions of Raerinne and of Darden have to be reconsidered.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In this model, boxes stand for observed variables, while arrows designate directional relationships. The latter are represented by equality signs in the structural equations. γ designates effects of x variables on y variables, β stand for effects of ys on other ys, and ζ indicate error terms for response variables (Grace 2006, p. 11).

  2. 2.

    Lamb and Cahill define intensity of competition as “the degree to which competition for a limited resource reduces plant performance below the physiological maximum achievable in a given environment.” Importance of competition is “the effect of competition relative to other environmental conditions. … competition can be considered important if variation in the intensity of competition is the cause of predictable variation in plant community structure” (Lamb and Cahill Jr, 2008, p. 778).

  3. 3.

    Italics added throughout the paragraph for emphasis.

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Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Iulian D. Toader for advice on improving the final version of the article, and for patience while the improvements materialized. I also thank Diane Dunham for suggestions on how to correct deficiencies in my writing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, University of Dayton, 300 College Park, Dayton, OH, 45469-1546, USA

    Viorel Pâslaru

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  1. Viorel Pâslaru
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Correspondence to Viorel Pâslaru .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Theoretical Philosophy, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania

    Ilie Pȃrvu

  2. Department of Philosophy, History, Culture and Art Studies, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Gabriel Sandu

  3. Department of Theoretical Philosophy, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania

    Iulian D. Toader

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Pâslaru, V. (2015). Causal and Mechanistic Explanations, and a Lesson from Ecology. In: Pȃrvu, I., Sandu, G., Toader, I. (eds) Romanian Studies in Philosophy of Science. Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science, vol 313. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16655-1_17

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