An analysis of some of the attempts to explain the concept of explanation. The author offers an insight into the works of Plato, Aristotle, John Stuart Mill and Carl Hempel and examines the concept within a wide theory of knowledge without confining it to a philosophy of science.

In Explaining Explanation, David-Hillel Ruben provides a nontechnical discussion of some of the main historical attempts to explain the concept of explanation, examining the works of Plato, Aristotle, John Stuart Mill, and Carl Hempel. Building on and developing the insights of these historical figures, he concludes with his own original and challenging view of explanation. He relates the concept of explanation to both epistemological and metaphysical issues. Not content to confine the concept to the realm of the philosophy of science, Ruben examines it within a far more broadly conceived theory of knowledge. This second edition of the influential and highly acclaimed book on the philosophy of explanation has been revised and expanded, and the author has made substantial changes in light of the extensive reviews the first edition received. Book jacket.

The aim of this series is to bring together important recent writings in major areas of philosophical inquiry, selected from a variety of sources, mostly periodicals, which may not be conveniently available to the university student or the general reader. The editor of each volume contributes an introductory essay on the items chosen and on the questions with which they deal. A selective bibliography is appended as a guide to further reading. This volume presents a selection of the most important recent writings on the nature of explanation. It covers a broad range of topics from the philosophy of science to the central philosophical terrain of the theory of knowledge. The distinguished contributors include Peter Achinstein, Wesley C. Salmon, Carl G. Hempel, Philip Kitcher, Bas C. van Fraassen, Jaegwon Kim, B. Brody, Timothy McCarthy, Peter Railton, David Lewis, Peter Lipton, James Woodward, and Robert J. Matthews.