ABSTRACT
The authors provide an overview of a mechanistic mode of theory construction as a means for addressing the many issues that have hindered scientific progress within criminology. They begin by demonstrating differences between mechanistic and competing forms of knowledge claim construction. Unlike substantivalism and multifactorism, mechanistic explanations go beyond statistical explanations of how aggregate properties of entities cause phenomena to highlight how entities and activities are hierarchically organized in ways that transcend mere aggregation to produce phenomena regularly. Mechanistic explanations also differ from processual explanations in that they allow for the existence of entities that possess specific activity-enabling structures that allow for specific kinds of activities to occur which produce phenomena of interest to scientists. Mechanistic explanations also differ significantly from logical-deductive modes of scientific inquiry in that they are formulated in a piecemeal fashion and can readily contend with the problems associated with explaining phenomena whose causes span multiple levels of analysis. The overview presented in this chapter is intended to provide a working understanding of the general components of mechanistic explanations.
