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(2013) Synthese 190 (6).
Inference to the best explanation, coherence and other explanatory virtues
Adolfas Mackonis
pp. 975-995
This article generalizes the explanationist account of inference to the best explanation (IBE). It draws a clear distinction between IBE and abduction and presents abduction as the first step of IBE. The second step amounts to the evaluation of explanatory power, which consist in the degree of explanatory virtues that a hypothesis exhibits. Moreover, even though coherence is the most often cited explanatory virtue, on pain of circularity, it should not be treated as one of the explanatory virtues. Rather, coherence should be equated with explanatory power and considered to be derivable from the other explanatory virtues: unification, explanatory depth and simplicity.
Publication details
DOI: 10.1007/s11229-011-0054-y
Full citation:
Mackonis, A. (2013). Inference to the best explanation, coherence and other explanatory virtues. Synthese 190 (6), pp. 975-995.
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