S/P/79. Are scientific explanations to be given in causal terms?

This paper examines the role of causality in scientific explanation, and discusses how our intuitive attachment to its involvement should not be confused with thinking we can adequately describe the connection. It examines numerous models suggesting that causation forms an essential basis for explaining scientific phenomena, identifying the key weakness as an unconvincing treatment of causal relations. There is also an examination and rejection of adopting a nihilistic approach, i.e. denying that science should have any explanatory role.