ESSAYS ON EXPLANATION AND UNDERSTANDING

Transcription

1 ESSAYS ON EXPLANATION AND UNDERSTANDING

2 SYNTHESE LIBRARY MONOGRAPHS ON EPISTEMOLOGY LOGIC, METHODOLOGY, PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE, SOCIOLOGY OF SCIENCE AND OF KNOWLEDGE, AND ON THE MATHEMATICAL METHODS OF SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES Managing Editor: J AAKKO HINTIKKA, Academy of Finland and Stanford University Editors: ROBER T S. COHEN, Boston University DONALD DAVIDSON, Rockefeller University and Princeton University GABRIEL NUCHELMANS, University of Leyden WESLEY C. SALMON, University of Arizona VOLUME 72

3 ESSAYS ON EXPLANATION AND CNDERSTANDING Studies in the Foundations of Humanities and Social Sciences Edited by JUHA MANNINEN Department of Philosophy, University of Helsinki, Finland and RAIMO TUOMELA Department of Philosophy, University of Helsinki, Finland D. REIDEL PUBLISHING COMPANY DORDRECHT-HOLLAND I BOSTON-U.S.A.

4 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Main entry under title: Essays on explanation and understanding. (Synthese library; 72) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Hermeneutics - Addresses, essays, lectures. 2. Intention (Logic)-Addresses, essays, lectures. 3. Comprehension Adresses, essays, lectures. 4. Causation-Addresses, essays, lectures. 5. Wright, Georg Henrik von, I. Manninen, Juha. II. Tuomela, Raimo. BD241.E ISBN-13: e-isbn-13: DOl: / Published by D. Reidel Publishing Company, P.O. Box 17, Dordrecht, Holland Sold and distributed in the U.S.A., Canada, and Mexico by D. Reidel Publishing Company, Inc. Lincoln Building, 160 Old Derby Street, Hingham, Mass , U.S.A. All Rights Reserved Copyright 1976 by D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, Holland Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover 1st edition 1976 No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any informational storage and retrieval system, without permission from the copyright owner

5 TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE VII PART 1/ APPROACHES TO TELEOLOGY, INTENTIONALITY, AND HISTORICAL UNDERSTANDING MANFRED RIEDEL / Causal and Historical Explanation 3 MARIA MAKAI / Against Reductionism and Purism: Tertium Datur 27 RUDIGER BUBNER / Is Transcendental Hermeneutics Possible? 59 JAAKKO HINTIKKA / The Intentions of Intentionality 79 J. N. FIND LA Y / Comments on Professor Hintikka's Paper 111 JAAKKO HINTIKKA / Reply to J. N. Findlay 117 PART II/CAUSALITY AND INTERVENTION PETER WINCH / Causality and Action ALASDAIR MACINTYRE / Causality and History ALEKSANDAR KRON / An Analysis of Causality RAIMO TUOMELA / Explanation and Understanding of Human Behavior PART III/HUMAN ACTION AND ITS EXPLANATION ANTHONY KENNY / Human Abilities and Dynamic Modalities 209 LARS HERTZBERG / On Deciding 233 JAEGWON KIM / Intention and Practical Inference 249 FREDERICK STOUTLAND / The Causal Theory of Action 271 REX MAR TIN / Explanation and Understanding in History 305 ILKKA NIINILUOTO / Inductive Explanation, Propensity, and Action 335

6 VI T ABLE OF CONTENTS PART IV / REPLIES TO COMMENTATORS. SECOND THOUGHTS ON EXPLANATION AND UNDERSTANDING GEORG HENRIK VON WRIGHT / Replies 371 GEORG HENRIK VON WRIGHT / Determinism and the Study of ~an 415 INDEX OF NAMES 437

7 PREFACE The present anthology consists of contributions to the philosophy of the humanities and the social sciences by European and American scholars. These writers represent not only the analytical tradition but also hermeneutic philosophy and Marxism. Of the papers included in this volume those by Professors Bubner, Hintikka, Kron, Tuomela, Kenny, Stoutland, Martin, and Niiniluoto were presented at an international colloquium on explanation and understanding held in Helsinki, Finland, on January 24-26, In addition to these papers, all the others, except Professor Winch's, were written specially for this anthology and have not been published before. Most of the papers are related to the work of Professor Georg Henrik von Wright in this philosophical field. The anthology includes an essay by Professor von Wright himself, together with his extensive replies to his commentators. In these replies he elaborates and, to some extent, revises his earlier views. On the whole, the anthology reflects the on-going confrontation of the analytical and continental trends. It produces new philosophical and methodological ideas and results concerning the theory of human action, intentionality, understanding, causality, and determinism. Basil Blackwell Publishing House has kindly permitted the reprinting of Professor Winch's paper, originally published in Metaphilosophy 4 (1973), pp We gratefully acknowledge the financial support by the University of Helsinki, the Philosophical Society of Finland, and the Finnish Cultural Foundation (Suomen Kulttuurirahasto), which made possible the Helsinki colloquium. May 1975 JURA MANNINEN RAIMO TUOMELA