A Communication-First Account of Explanation

We illustrate the fruitfulness of the account, relative to previous accounts, by showing that widely rec ognized "explanatory virtues" emerge naturally, as do subtle empirical patterns concerning the im pact of norms on causal judgments. This shows the value of a "communication-first" appro ach to explanation: getting clear on explanation's communicative dimension is an important prereq uisite for philosophical work on explanation. The result is a simple but powerful framework f or incorporating insights from the cognitive sciences into philosophical work on explanation, w hich will be useful for philosophers or cognitive scientists interested in explanation.