Explaining Explanation, Part 1: Theoretical Foundations

This is the first in a series of essays that addresses the manifest programmatic interest in developing intelligent systems that help people make good decisions in messy, complex, and uncertain circumstances by exploring several questions: What is an explanation? How do people explain things? How might intelligent systems explain their workings? How might intelligent systems help humans be better understanders as well as better explainers? This article addresses the theoretical foundations.