The ontic conception of scientific explanation

•Examination of Salmon's version of the ontic conception of explanation.•Multiple arguments against the ontic conception of explanation.•Concludes that all explanation must be conceived of non-ontically or epistemically.•Disentangles mechanistic from ontic explanation.

Wesley Salmon's version of the ontic conception of explanation is a main historical root of contemporary work on mechanistic explanation. This paper examines and critiques the philosophical merits of Salmon's version, and argues that his conception's most fundamental construct is either fundamentally obscure, or else reduces to a non-ontic conception of explanation. Either way, the ontic conception is a misconception.