This book develops a philosophical account that reveals the major characteristics that make an explanation in the life sciences reductive and distinguish them from non-reductive explanations. Understanding what reductive explanations are enables one to assess the conditions under which reductive explanations are adequate and thus enhances debates about explanatory reductionism. The account of reductive explanation presented in this book has three major characteristics. First, it emerges from a critical reconstruction of the explanatory practice of the life sciences itself. Second, the account...

This comprehensive review of the methods used in explaining biology and history provides fresh insights into the debate over mechanisms in the sciences. Specially commissioned essays analyze the profoundly illuminating mutuality of these two core disciplines.