Inference to the Best Explanation and the Screening-Off Challenge

Teorema: International Journal of Philosophy 38:121-142 (2019)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

We argue in Roche and Sober (2013) that explanatoriness is evidentially irrelevant in that Pr(H | O&EXPL) = Pr(H | O), where H is a hypothesis, O is an observation, and EXPL is the proposition that if H and O were true, then H would explain O. This is a “screening-off” thesis. Here we clarify that thesis, reply to criticisms advanced by Lange (2017), consider alternative formulations of Inference to the Best Explanation, discuss a strengthened screening-off thesis, and consider how it bears on the claim that unification is evidentially relevant.

Author Profiles

William Roche
Texas Christian University
Elliott Sober
University of Wisconsin, Madison

Analytics

Added to PP
2019-07-13

Downloads
423 (#54,455)

6 months
89 (#63,120)

Historical graph of downloads since first upload
This graph includes both downloads from PhilArchive and clicks on external links on PhilPapers.
How can I increase my downloads?