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This analysis finds a way to account for asymmetry in explanations using the deductive-nomological model, suggesting a different approach than causation.
One of the most famous alleged counterexamples to the deductive-nomological model of explanation (DN-model, for short) is the case of the flagpole. It is used to argue that the DN-model cannot account for the asymmetry that is widely held to be essential to explanations. Ultimately, it is supposed to show that the DN-model does not state sufficient conditions on explanation and that the asymmetry of explanation needs to be explained in terms of causation. In this paper, we argue that proponents of the DN-model have resources to account for the asymmetry of explanation by appealing to features intrinsic to the laws and without reference to causation.
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Siegfried Jaag (2025) studied this question.
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