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Explanatory Stabilization in Situations of Evidential Uncertainty

Schindler, Samuel (2024) Explanatory Stabilization in Situations of Evidential Uncertainty. [Preprint]

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Abstract

In this paper I issue a challenge to what I call the “Independence Thesis of Theory Assessment” (ITTA). According to ITTA, the evidence for (or against) a theory must be assessed independently from the theory explaining the evidence. I argue that ITTA is undermined by cases of evidential uncertainty, in which scientists have been guided by the explanatory power of their theories in the assessment of the evidence. Instead, I argue, these cases speak in favor of a model of theory assessment in which explanatory power may indeed contribute to the stabilization of the evidential basis.


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Item Type: Preprint
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Schindler, Samuelsamuel.schindler@css.au.dk0000-0002-5656-9840
Additional Information: forthcoming in the Philosophy of Science journal
Keywords: theory assessment; explanatory power; explanatory values; theoretical virtues; Bayesianism; historical case studies; discovery
Subjects: General Issues > Confirmation/Induction
General Issues > Evidence
General Issues > Experimentation
General Issues > Theory Change
General Issues > Theory/Observation
General Issues > Values In Science
Depositing User: Samuel Schindler
Date Deposited: 14 Jun 2024 16:49
Last Modified: 14 Jun 2024 16:49
Item ID: 23560
Subjects: General Issues > Confirmation/Induction
General Issues > Evidence
General Issues > Experimentation
General Issues > Theory Change
General Issues > Theory/Observation
General Issues > Values In Science
Date: 2024
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/23560

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