Causal Explanation from a Conceptual Engineering Perspective: Non-Reductionism, Precision, and Pluralism

While projects in philosophy of science often focus on similar sorts of topics, there are often massive differences in how philosophers approach them. One approach that has enjoyed significant success-and that is modeled in the work of Wimsatt and others-involves taking a conceptual engineering perspective in analyzing these topics. In this paper, we outline main features of this conceptual engineering approach and use it to advance three emerging claims regarding causal explanation in biology and neuroscience. We suggest that causal explanation in these domains is non-reductive in contrast to always requiring (or improving with) lower-level details, that it is guided by precise explanatory targets in contrast to complete or multidimensional explanatory targets, and that it is pluralist in involving importantly distinct types of causal systems.