Questions on Scientific Explanations

1. In the lecture, I showed that conditions R1 to R4 of Hempel's Deductive-Nomological model failed to give sufficient conditions for a scientific explanation. I proposed R5, but I said I didn't think it'd work. Why not? Can you think of a better one?

2. Do you think it's possible to give scientific explanations in the social sciences? Do you think that explanations in that area can be made to fit the D-N model.

3. The D-N model clearly has difficulty with statistical explanations and yet we do seem to want to be able to say that there are such things. Can you think of different ways of distinguishing scientific explanations from non-scientific explanations that might get around this problem?