Abstract
Hodgkin and Huxley's model of the action potential is an apparent dream case of covering-law explanation in biology. The model includes laws of physics and chemistry that, coupled with details about antecedent and background conditions, can be used to derive features of the action potential. Hodgkin and Huxley insist that their model is not an explanation. This suggests either that subsuming a phenomenon under physical laws is insufficient to explain it or that Hodgkin and Huxley were wrong. I defend Hodgkin and Huxley against Weber's heteronomy thesis and argue that explanations are descriptions of mechanisms.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1022-1033 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Philosophy of Science |
| Volume | 75 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2008 |