DIAGRAMS, DIFFERENCE-MAKERS, AND BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE

It is intriguing how scientific diagrams can facilitate scientific explanations. Philosophers argue that the difference-maker afforded in scientific diagrams can pro-vide an explanation for the phenomenon of interest. I argue that difference-maker alone is insufficient to provide a well-informed scientific explanation. I articulate that the non-depicting relevant background knowledge has a significant role to play in diagrammatic explanations. The difference-makers play the solicitor role in soliciting the relevant explanatory resources from the relevant background knowledge of the depictum. An epistemic aggregation which regiments the relevant background knowledge may provide a well-informed scientific explanation of a depicted phenomenon.