Explanation is one of the most controversial issues in contemporary philosophy of science. Over the last decade, a causal approach to explanation has been favoured, under different guises, e.g. interventionist, mechanistic, etc. However, these are not the only options available, since unificationist, pragmatic and probabilistic accounts point at the limits of the causal perspective. Furthermore, options developed initially as part of the causal approach are now keeping some distance from their origins. It is debatable, for instance, whether inter-level mechanistic explanations really are causal explanations. In addition to this, explanation is usually invoked as a target for scientific theories/models and, according to some authors, explanation should inform scientific inference (i.e.: inference to the best explanation). However, although what scientific explanation is and what makes explanation valuable in science are different questions, it seems that their respective answers should be related somehow. But, should a philosophical theory of scientific explanation justify why explanation is valuable in science; or rather, should our evaluative criteria concerning scientific explanation inform what scientific explanation is?
teorema invites submissions for a special issue on explanation in science. The following is a non-exhaustive list of suggested topics for contributions:

o Is the relation between causal and non-causal approaches to scientific explanation one of conflict or one of complementarity?
o What are the prospects for extending causal approaches to the sciences that are in principle more opposed to them, such as economics and the social sciences?
o To what extent is actual explanatory practice in science a benchmark for philosophical theories of explanation?
o What is the relation between the properties that define scientific explanation and the properties that make an explanation preferable, qua explanation, to a rival option?

Articles must be written in English and should not exceed 6,000 words. For the presentation of their articles, authors are requested to take into account the instructions available here. Submissions must be suitable for blind review. Both a DOC and a PDF document must be sent to the Editor of teorema by May 31st, 2018. Notification of intent to submit, including both a title and a brief summary of the content, will be greatly appreciated, as it will assist with the coordination and planning of the special issue.

Guest Editor for this issue will be DR. VÍCTOR M. VERDEJO, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.