ABSTRACT
In his much discussed book, Explanation and Understanding (1971, Ch. I), Georg Henrik von Wright makes a distinction between two traditions in the philosophy of science, the Galilean and the Aristotelean. While the former is occupied with causal explanation, the latter is concerned with understanding and
teleological explanation. Causal explanations, according to the first tradition, conform more or less to the positivistic covering law model, causalistically conceived: they cite general law-like regularities and ‘mechanical’ causes. Understanding, in turn, uses a technique which, in the context of human action, can be explicated in terms of the Aristotelean practical syllogism which refers not to causes but to reasons-i.e., intentions and beliefs of actors.
