explicandum
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- (Logic) The thing to be explained: An "explicandum" is a statement, fact, thing, or expression that requires explanation or interpretation. It is the subject of an explanation.
Usage
- The term "explicandum" is primarily used in formal, academic, or logical contexts to identify the specific object of analysis.
- It is often paired with its counterpart, the "explicans," which is the statement or series of statements that provide the explanation for the explicandum.
Examples
- Noun:
- The first step in any scientific inquiry is to clearly define the explicandum.
- In his paper, the philosopher carefully distinguished the explicandum (the phenomenon of free will) from the proposed explicans (a compatibilist model).
- The strange results from the experiment became the central explicandum for the research team.
Advanced Usage
- "The explicandum of a theory": Refers to the specific set of phenomena or problems that a theory is designed to explain.
- The primary explicandum of evolutionary theory is the adaptation of species to their environments.
Variants and Related Words
- Explicans (n): The statement or set of statements that serve to explain the explicandum.
- A good explanation requires both a clear explicandum and a coherent explicans.
Synonyms
- Explanandum: A direct synonym, identical in meaning and usage.
- Target of explanation: A more descriptive phrase with the same meaning.
- Phenomenon to be explained: A descriptive synonym.
Notes
- "Explicandum" is a technical term borrowed directly from Latin, meaning "that which is to be explained." Its use is almost exclusively found in philosophy of science, logic, and formal analytical writing.
Noun
- (logic) a statement of something (a fact or thing or expression) to be explained