Explanans
Explanans is a term used in philosophy of science to denote the part of an explanation that provides the grounds or reasons for a phenomenon. It is contrasted with explanandum, the phenomenon or fact that requires explanation. Together, the explanans and explanandum constitute an explanatory relation: the explanans allegedly makes the explanandum intelligible.
Typically, the explanans consists of the statements that supply the causal, lawlike, or statistical backing for
The concept is closely associated with the deductive-nomological (DN) model proposed by Carl Hempel and Paul
Examples illustrate the idea: explaining why a tennis ball lands in the court may involve the laws
Philosophical work also debates alternatives to the DN model, recognizing that explanations can be causal, statistical,