The Tyranny of Explanation

David Deutsch, in his book, The Beginning of Infinity, argues that “good” explanations are how knowledge grows, and thus good explanations are what lead to progress. Deutsch believes that the Enlightenment was only possible because of Western society’s quest for good explanations. As such, Deutsch believes quite optimistically that humanity’s ability to “cure all evils” has infinite reach, as long as we keep searching for good explanations. Deutsch disregards philosophies that are “explanationless” and instead believes elegant explanations of our world are the ultimate guide to truth. Deutsch argues that substantial creativity has only existed since the Enlightenment, since creation must depend on a culture of critique using “good” explanations.

I will argue that explanations are indeed needed, but not in the way Deutsch thinks. Rather than “good” explanations leading to progress, it is “bad” explanations that move us forward, and in fact, almost all explanations are bad. I argue that ultimately it does not matter if an explanation is correct, as long as we believe they are, since this is what motivates us to keep trying. More to the point, it is not an explanation’s proximity to truth that solves problems, but rather movement and naivete that make problems tractable. I will argue that explanations are not truly testable for most natural phenomena, and as such, are not aligned to the culture of critique as Deutsch suggests. I will argue that the notion of unlimited knowledge growth is problematic, running counter to what we know about the convergence and cyclical nature of ideas. I will contend that philosophies that reject explanation should be preferred, and that ultimately, knowledge is not required for progress.

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