Editing Explanation (section)

{{Short description|Set of statements constructed to describe a set of facts which clarifies causes}}
{{For|the poem by Wallace Stevens|Explanation (poem)}}
{{Redirect|Explained|the documentary television series|Explained (TV series)}}

An '''explanation''' is a set of [[Statement (logic)|statements]] usually constructed to [[description|describe]] a set of facts that clarifies the [[causality|cause]]s, [[wiktionary:context|context]], and [[Logical consequence|consequences]] of those facts. It may establish [[rule of inference|rule]]s or [[axiom|law]]s, and clarifies the existing rules or laws in relation to any objects or phenomena examined.<ref name=Logic/>

In [[philosophy]], an explanation is a set of statements which render [[understandable]] the existence or occurrence of an object, event, or state of affairs. Among its most common forms are:
* Causal explanation
* [[Deductive-nomological]] explanation, involves subsuming the explanandum under a generalization from which it may be derived in a deductive argument. For example, “All gases expand when heated; this gas was heated; therefore, this gas expanded".
* [[Wesley C. Salmon#Relevance/specificity|Statistical explanation]], involves subsuming the explanandum under a generalization that gives it inductive support. For example, “Most people who use tobacco contract cancer; this person used tobacco; therefore, this person contracted cancer”.
Explanations of human behavior usually rely to the subject’s beliefs, desires and other relevant facts. They operate under the assumption that the behavior in question is rational to some extent. Thus an explanation of why the subject removed his coat might cite the fact that he felt hot and desired to feel cooler, and believed that he would feel cooler if he took off his coat.<ref>{{Britannica | TITLE=Explanation }}</ref>