Social Explanations: A New Approach

Explanatory particularism (EP) is a radically pluralist approach to scientific explanation, which rejects several traditional ideas about explanation: monism, hierarchy, simplicity. Instead, EP defines explanation as resulting from collaborative activity within or among particular epistemic communities. This social theory of explanation offers insights for philosophy of social science, both theoretical and applied. This paper presents some of these insights, using the themes of anti-monism, anti-hierarchy, and commitment to complexity, alongside short case studies of interdisciplinary social science.