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Epistemic Justification and Methodological Luck in Inflationary Cosmology

McCoy, C.D. (2019) Epistemic Justification and Methodological Luck in Inflationary Cosmology. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 70 (4). pp. 1003-1028.

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Abstract

I present a recent historical case from cosmology---the story of inflationary cosmology---and on its basis argue that solving explanatory problems can be a reliable method for making progress in science. In particular, I claim that the success of inflationary theory at solving its predecessor’s explanatory problems justified the theory (epistemically), even in advance of the development of novel predictions from the theory and the later confirmation of those predictions.

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Item Type: Published Article or Volume
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
McCoy, C.D.casey.mccoy@ed.ac.uk0000-0002-7921-4911
Keywords: cosmology, inflation, scientific problems, empiricism, explanationism, epistemic justification
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Physics > Cosmology
General Issues > Explanation
Depositing User: Dr. Casey McCoy
Date Deposited: 27 Nov 2019 13:06
Last Modified: 27 Nov 2019 13:06
Item ID: 16661
Journal or Publication Title: The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science
Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1093/bjps/axy014
DOI or Unique Handle: 10.1093/bjps/axy014
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Physics > Cosmology
General Issues > Explanation
Date: December 2019
Page Range: pp. 1003-1028
Volume: 70
Number: 4
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/16661

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