Why did Carl Hempel think historical explanations should use general laws?

Carl Hempel, a proponent of logical positivism, argued that historical explanations should incorporate general laws because he believed that all scholarly disciplines should strive for the same objective, logical structure as the natural sciences, particularly physics.12

His approach, known as the covering-law model, was based on the premise that to explain an event is to demonstrate that it was to be expected given certain conditions and the application of relevant laws. Hempel maintained that for an explanation to be considered rational and objectively assessable, it must rely on premises that include at least one law of nature—whether universal or statistical—which provides support for the conclusion.134

By requiring that historical occurrences be subsumed under general uniformities, Hempel sought to avoid subjective or "obscurantist" methods, such as empathy or Verstehen, which he and other positivists argued failed to provide objective criteria for evaluating competing historical interpretations. Ultimately, he aimed to ensure that history could be treated as a legitimate branch of empirical investigation, where explanations are logically compelling rather than merely plausible.42