mechanismoften
Mechanismoften is a term used in contemporary discussions of explanation and science communication to describe a pattern in which explanations repeatedly appeal to a mechanistic cause as the primary account for a broad range of phenomena. The word combines mechanism with often, signaling a frequent reliance on mechanistic reasoning in explanation rather than other explanatory styles such as functional, statistical, or probabilistic accounts.
Origins and scope: The term is not a formal technical category but a descriptive label that has
Characteristics and usage: Mechanismoften is associated with foregrounding a specific mechanism as the explanatory endpoint. It
Criticism and safeguards: Critics warn that reliance on mechanistic explanations can obscure uncertainty, exclude alternative causal
Related topics include mechanistic explanation, reductionism, causal explanation, and explanation in science.