Iranzo, Valeriano (2007) Abduction and Inference to the Best Explanation. THEORIA. An International Journal for Theory, History and Foundations of Science, 22 (3). pp. 339-346. ISSN 2171-679X

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Abstract

Aliseda’s Abductive Reasoning is focused on the logical problem of abduction. My paper, in contrast, deals with the epistemic problems raised by this sort of inference. I analyze the relation between abduction and inference to the best explanation (IBE). Firstly a heuristic and a normative interpretation of IBE are distin-guished. The epistemic problem is particularly pressing for the latter interpretation, since it is devoid of content without specific epistemic criteria for separating acceptable explanations from those which are not. Then I discuss two different normative interpretations of IBE. I. Niiniliuoto favours a “probabilistic-confirmational” translation of explanatory merit while S. Psillos thinks that the insight of IBE is lost in a pure probabilistic format. My conclusion is that Aliseda’s theory of abduction fits better with a heuristic ac-count of IBE.

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Item Type:	Published Article or Volume
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Iranzo, Valeriano iranzov@uv.es
Additional Information:	ISSN: 0495-4548 (print)
Keywords:	abduction, inference to the best explanation, reliabilism, confirmation, explanatory value
Depositing User:	Users 15304 not found.
Date Deposited:	28 Feb 2014 00:41
Last Modified:	11 Mar 2014 21:46
Item ID:	10421
Journal or Publication Title:	THEORIA. An International Journal for Theory, History and Foundations of Science
Publisher:	Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea / Universidad del País Vasco
Official URL:	http://www.ehu.es/ojs/index.php/THEORIA/article/vi...
DOI or Unique Handle:	10.1387/theoria.455
Date:	2007
Page Range:	pp. 339-346
Volume:	22
Number:	3
ISSN:	2171-679X
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/10421

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