The Role of Philosophical Explanation in Scientific Description from the Viewpoint of Avicennian Philosophy: With Emphasis on Medical Teachings

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Faculty of Theology, Farabi Campus, University of Tehran

2 Faculty of Traditional Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Abstract

The relationship between science and philosophy can be examined from various aspects; One of them is the question of the relationship between "scientific description" and "philosophical explanation." empiricists believe that there is no relation between the question of why phenomena are in the position of explanation, and how they are in the position of description and that the boundaries of natural science are independent of metaphysical and physical philosophy. In the meantime, paying attention to the thoughts of Avicenna, who was familiar with both philosophy and natural science, can be useful.
In the Avicennian philosophy, explanation differs from the description, but it is not independent. The method of philosophical explanation, both in metaphysical philosophy and in physical philosophy, is effective in the method of scientific description. Thus, methodologically, description is the opposite of prescription, not explanation. Accordingly, without having any model of causal relations, it is not possible to provide a methodical description of natural and scientific phenomena. The main features of this causal model include: distinguishing between causal and intrinsic causality, near and far causality, simple and compound causality, potential and actual causality, and also the effect of causal relations in scientific attribution and reasoning.

Keywords

References

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