The directionality of distinctively mathematical explanations

In “What Makes a Scientific Explanation Distinctively Mathematical?” (2013b), Lange uses several compelling examples to argue that certain explanations for natural phenomena appeal primarily to mathematical, rather than natural, facts. In such explanations, the core explanatory facts are modally stronger than facts about causation, regularity, and other natural relations. We show that Lange's account of distinctively mathematical explanation is flawed in that it fails to account for the implicit directionality in each of his examples. This inadequacy is remediable in each case by appeal to ontic facts that account for why the explanation is acceptable in one direction and unacceptable in the other direction. The mathematics involved in these examples cannot play this crucial normative role. While Lange's examples fail to demonstrate the existence of distinctively mathematical explanations, they help to emphasize that many superficially natural scientific explanations rely for their explanatory force on relations of stronger-than-natural necessity. These are not opposing kinds of scientific explanations; they are different aspects of scientific explanation

Two investigations. An attempt to improve the yield of allyl magnesium bromide and a synthesis of o-diiodobenzene

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston Universit

Mechanistic Levels, Reduction, and Emergence

We sketch the mechanistic approach to levels, contrast it with other senses of “level,” and explore some of its metaphysical implications. This perspective allows us to articulate what it means for things to be at different levels, to distinguish mechanistic levels from realization relations, and to describe the structure of multilevel explanations, the evidence by which they are evaluated, and the scientific unity that results from them. This approach is not intended to solve all metaphysical problems surrounding physicalism. Yet it provides a framework for thinking about how the macroscopic phenomena of our world are or might be related to its most fundamental entities and activities

The Impact of Student GPAs and a Pass/Fail Option on Clinical Negotiation Course Performance

Published in cooperation with the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolutio

Long-Term Potentiation: One Kind or Many?

Do neurobiologists aim to discover natural kinds? I address this question in this chapter via a critical analysis of classification practices operative across the 43-year history of research on long-term potentiation (LTP). I argue that this 43-year history supports the idea that the structure of scientific practice surrounding LTP research has remained an obstacle to the discovery of natural kinds

A Preliminary Qualitative Evaluation of the Virginia Gold Program

The Virginia Gold Program was designed to improve the retention of certified nursing assistants (CNAs). CNAs provide the majority of paid care to nursing facility residents; however, annual CNA turnover is high, which can lead to substandard resident care. To address this, Virginia Medicaid funded CNA retention projects in five nursing facilities. Results from 10 focus groups suggest that retention and quality of care improved as a result. The study will be published in TQR in January 2013