Explanation and argument

Tesic, Marko (2020) Explanation and argument. PhD thesis, Birkbeck, University of London.

Abstract

In this thesis I address the relationship between arguments and explanations. In particular, I consider three notions of explanation and the way they relate to arguments. I argue that arguments and explanations should be considered in tandem rather than in isolation. I provide support for this contention throughout the thesis. Specifically, I show how research on argumentation includes considerations of explanation and informs useful distinctions regarding the different notions of explanation (Chapter 1). I then explore the close relationship between arguments and explanations on a specific pattern of reasoning called ‘explaining away’ where I show how explanations can affect the strength of an argument (Chapter 2). In Chapter 3 I provide further theoretical background regarding the different notions of explanations and I discuss factors that constitute ‘good’ explanations. These factors are then explored with respect to the notion of explanations as inference processes and in the context of arguments viewed as causal Bayesian networks. In Chapter 4 I focus on one of the aspects of explanations when embedded in a social context. Here, I take a concern that has been prominent in recent argumentation work, namely the role of the argument source, and pursue it in the context of explanation by examining how the provision of explanations affects the perceived reliability of the explainer. Finally, in Chapter 5 I summarize the results of the thesis and discuss the implications and potential directions for future research.

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