Note: Intro -- Contents -- Contributors -- 1 Introduction: Points of Contact Between Biology and History -- 1.1 Historical Explanation in Biology -- 1.2 Mechanistic Explanation in the Historical Sciences -- 1.3 Conclusion -- References -- Part I General Issues on Explanation -- 2 The Ontic Account of Scientific Explanation -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 The Ambiguities of "Explanation" -- 2.3 Adequate Explanations and the Ontic Conception -- 2.4 The CL Model -- 2.5 Churchland's Connectionist Account -- 2.6 Idealization and the Ontic Conception -- 2.7 Conclusion -- References -- Part II Explanation in the Biological Sciences -- 3 Causal Graphs and Biological Mechanisms -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 Causal Graph Theory -- 3.2.1 Statistical Variables and Probability Distributions -- 3.2.2 Probabilistic Dependence and Independence Relations -- 3.2.3 Graphs and Causal Graphs -- 3.2.4 Bayesian Networks and Causal Models -- 3.3 Biological Mechanisms -- 3.4 Feedback Inhibition of ACCase by 18:1-ACP in Brassica napus -- 3.5 Modeling the Mechanism for Feedback Inhibition -- 3.5.1 A Causal Graph Theoretical Model of the Mechanism for Feedback Inhibition -- 3.5.2 Dynamic Causal Models -- 3.5.3 Hierarchically Ordered Causal Models -- 3.6 Merits and Limits of Causal Graph Theoretical Models -- 3.7 Conclusion -- References -- 4 Semiotic Explanation in the Biological Sciences -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 Conservative and Nonconservative Models -- 4.3 Semiotic Models as Nonconservative Models and the Question of Reduction -- 4.4 The Epistemic Role of Semiotic Models in Biology -- 4.5 How to Deal with the Concept of Genetic Information -- References -- 5 Mechanisms, Patho-Mechanisms, and the Explanation of Disease in Scientifically Based Clinical Medicine -- 5.1 Preliminaries -- 5.2 Medical Clinical Phenomenology of the Disease Concept. , 5.2.1 Some Hints for Objectifying Medical Clinical Phenomenology -- 5.3 A Process Ontology of the Explanans μ -- 5.4 The Individuation of a Disease Category -- 5.5 A Dispositional Ontology of the Explanans μ -- 5.5.1 Advantages and Drawbacks of the Incapacity Account of Diseases -- 5.6 A Mechanistic Ontology for Disease Entities -- 5.6.1 A Survey of Some Mechanistic Ontologies of the Explanans μ -- 5.6.2 A Neuron Diagram for PKU and Its Generalization -- 5.6.3 Identifying Diseases Within Complex Mechanistic Bases -- 5.6.4 Normative Criteria of a Complex Mechanistic Base -- 5.7 Summary and Conclusion -- References -- 6 The Generalizations of Biology: Historical and Contingent? -- 6.1 Introduction: The Universality of Laws -- 6.2 What Is Universality? -- 6.3 Against the Alleged Historical Character of Biological Generalizations -- 6.3.1 Argument for Universality1 -- 6.3.2 Argument for Universality2 -- 6.4 The Case for Nonuniversal3 Generalizations -- 6.4.1 Completer Accounts -- 6.4.2 Normality and Statistical Accounts -- 6.4.3 Invariance Accounts -- 6.4.4 Dispositionalist Accounts -- 6.5 Conclusion and Outlook -- References -- 7 Evolutionary Explanations and the Role of Mechanisms -- 7.1 General Evolution Theory: The Three Darwinian Modules -- 7.2 Functional and Evolutionary Explanations -- 7.3 Evolutionary Explanation and Mechanism -- References -- Part III Explanation in the Historical Sciences -- 8 Explaining Roman History: A Case Study -- 8.1 Introduction -- 8.2 The Problems of the Sources -- 8.2.1 The Classical Model -- 8.2.2 Rome as the Center of the Universe -- 8.2.3 The Not So Impartial Observer -- 8.2.4 Politics in Secret -- 8.3 The Rise of Rome -- 8.4 How to Run an Empire? -- 8.5 Concluding Remarks -- References -- Ancient Sources -- Modern Works. , 9 Causal Explanation and Historical Meaning: How to Solve the Problem of the Specific Historical Relation Between Events -- 9.1 Introduction -- 9.2 Danto's Scientists -- 9.3 Historical and Semantic Meaning -- 9.4 The Concept of Causality -- 9.5 Danto's Scientists Revisited -- References -- 10 Do Historians Study the Mechanisms of History? A Sketch -- 10.1 The Question: Historians, Mechanisms, and Histories -- 10.2 Mechanisms and Emergentist Systemism (Mario Bunge) -- 10.3 Mechanisms and Critical Realism (Roy Bhaskar) -- 10.4 Mechanisms and Methodological Localism (Daniel Little) -- 10.5 Do They or Do They Not? -- References -- 11 Philosophy of History: Metaphysics and Epistemology -- 11.1 Philosophy of History -- 11.2 The Spectrum of the Historical Sciences -- 11.3 Questions for the Historical Sciences -- 11.4 From Epistemology to Metaphysics: Objects and Sources of Historical Knowledge -- 11.5 Metaphysics of History: Tasks and Projects -- 11.6 Seeing, Hearing, and Feeling the Past: Perception as a Historical Source of Knowledge -- References -- 12 Causal Explanations of Historical Trends -- 12.1 Introduction -- 12.2 Morphological Trends in the Fossil Record -- 12.3 The Metaphysics of Historical Trends: Some Preliminary Distinctions -- 12.4 An Interventionist Proposal -- 12.5 Passive Trends -- 12.5.1 Manipulating the Starting Value of the Target Variable -- 12.5.2 Manipulating the Fixed Boundary in the State Space -- 12.5.3 Manipulating the Directional Bias in the State Space -- 12.6 Conclusion -- References -- Part IV Bridging the Two Disciplines -- 13 Aspects of Human Historiographic Explanation: A View from the Philosophy of Science -- 13.1 Introduction -- 13.2 The Battle of Antietam: A Brief Narrative -- 13.3 Mechanisms and Historical Explanation -- 13.4 Selected Problems of Historiographic Explanation. , 13.4.1 Problems of Object and Event Individuation -- 13.4.2 The Problem of Historical Meaning -- 13.4.3 The Problem of Agency -- 13.4.4 The Problem of Laws -- 13.4.5 The Problem of Contingency -- 13.5 Conclusion -- References -- 14 History and the Sciences -- 14.1 Introduction -- 14.2 Some Theses to be Scrutinized -- 14.3 Problems with Strong Explanationism -- 14.4 Liberalism about Historical Explanation -- 14.5 History and Truth -- 14.6 Style in History -- References -- 15 Explanation and Intervention in Coupled Human and Natural Systems -- 15.1 Introduction -- 15.2 CHANS -- 15.3 Invariance, Intervention, and Explanation -- 15.4 Robustness and Autonomy -- 15.4.1 Robust Interventions -- 15.4.2 Autonomy -- 15.4.3 Explanation Without Invariance -- 15.5 Conclusions -- References -- 16 Biology and Natural History: What Makes the Difference? -- 16.1 Introduction -- 16.2 Types and Tokens -- 16.3 The Historical Sciences -- 16.4 The Theoretical Sciences -- 16.5 Explanations of Evidence and Events -- 16.6 Conclusion -- References.