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Inference to the Best Explanation Made Coherent

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2022

Igor Douven*
Affiliation:
Utrecht University
*
Department of Philosophy, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 8, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands, e-mail: igor.douven@phil.uu.nl.

Abstract

Van Fraassen (1989) argues that Inference to the Best Explanation is incoherent in the sense that adopting it as a rule for belief change will make one susceptible to a dynamic Dutch book. The present paper argues against this. A strategy is described that allows us to infer to the best explanation free of charge.

Type
Explanation, Confirmation, and Scientific Inference
Copyright
Copyright © 1999 by the Philosophy of Science Association

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Footnotes

I am greatly indebted to Jos Uffink for many helpful discussions and for detailed criticisms of previous versions of this paper; I am also grateful to Patrick Maher and Bas van Fraassen for valuable comments.

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