This paper discusses the idea that some of the causal factors that are responsible for the production of a natural phenomenon are explanatorily irrelevant and, thus, may be omitted or distorted. It argues against Craig Callender’s suggestion that the standard explanation of phase transitions in statistical mechanics may be considered a causal explanation, in Michael Strevens’ sense, as a distortion that can nevertheless successfully represent causal relations.
CITATION STYLE
Toader, I. D. (2015). Against Harmony: Infinite Idealizations and Causal Explanation. In Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science (Vol. 313, pp. 291–301). Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16655-1_18
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