ON PREDICTION AND EXPLANATION*

ANALYSES in the philosophy of science frequently emphasise the logical similarities between prediction and explanation. It is said that prediction and explanation are identical from a logical standpoint, in that each is an instance of the use of reasoning in support of an hypothesis, and it is contended that the sole point of difference between them is that the hypothesis of a prediction concerns the future, while explanations concern the past.. We read, for example, that the difference between the two [i.e. prediction and explanation] is of a pragmatic character. If E [the conclusion of the explanatory schema] is given, i.e. if we know that the phenomenon described by E has occurred . . . we speak of an explanation of the phenomenon in question. If . . . E is derived prior to the occurrence of the phenomenon it describes, we speak of a prediction.