Welton and Coffey classify hypothesis into two types.

a) Hypothesis of Cause:

Welton does not differentiate between hypothesis concerning agent and collocation. He puts both the categories in one type and considers it as hypothesis concerning cause. Any hypothesis that explains the cause of a phenomenon is a hypothesis concerning cause.

In case of events of nature, the agent and the circumstance fall in one group, according to Welton. Hence, for Welton, such hypothesis should be considered as hypothesis of cause.

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b) Hypothesis of Law:

According to Welton, the causal hypothesis is explanatory whereas a hypothesis concerning law is descriptive. A law describes phenomena of nature, hence it is descriptive. In this respect hypothesis of law is different from a hypothesis about a cause.

This classification of Welton has not been accepted as satisfactory.