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Explanation and Understanding

Georg Henrik von Wright author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Cornell University Press

Published:7th May '04

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Explanation and Understanding cover

"Explanation and Understanding, perhaps von Wright's best-known book, showed the influence of Wittgenstein, but marked a clean break with the positivism of his youth. He suggested that human action could not be explained causally by scientific or 'natural' laws, but had to be understood 'intentionally'—a concept connected with wants and beliefs developed in a social and cultural context."—Daily Telegraph"This is a very good book packed with much original material; it also contains illuminating reinterpretations of some familiar theories and arguments. The range of topics treated includes causation, action, verification of gnomic statements, practical inference and its use in the explanation of action, and the structure of explanation in history."—Philosophical Review

"Explanation and Understanding, perhaps von Wright's best-known book, showed the influence of Wittgenstein but marked a clean break with the positivism of his youth. He suggested that human action could not be explained causally by scientific or 'natural' laws, but had to be understood 'intentionally'—a concept connected with wants and beliefs developed in a social and cultural context."—Daily Telegraph
"This is a very good book packed with much original material; it also contains illuminating reinterpretations of some familiar theories and arguments. The range of topics treated includes causation, action, verification of gnomic statements, practical inference and its use in the explanation of action, and the structure of explanation in history.—Philosophical Review

ISBN: 9780801489365

Dimensions: 216mm x 140mm x 18mm

Weight: 454g

256 pages