ABSTRACT
The covering law thesis is the essential requirement of Carl Gustav Hempel's scientific explanation models. Concerning the argument of the syphilitic mayor, Hempel believes that since the probability of paresis among untreated syphilitics is low, "syphilis causing paresis" is not a good Inductive-Statistical (IS) explanation. The Deductive-Nomological (DN) model needs to satisfy an empirical condition as well: statements consisting of explanans must all be true. Dealing with statistical explanations in scientific research, in 1962 Hempel devised the IS model, based on the DN model. Hempel suggests there are numerous variations of explanation models in scientific practice for convenience or other reasons, and then he proposes three particular forms: elliptic explanation, partial explanation, and explanation sketch. Elliptic explanation is to omit laws and initial conditions that everyone knows in order to form a simplified explanation. Hempel built up brilliant models of scientific explanation, and in doing so; he made great contributions to science.
