Overview

Explanatory reasoning is ubiquitous. Not only are rigorous inferences to the best explanation used pervasively in the sciences, this kind of reasoning is common in everyday life. Despite its widespread use, inference to the best explanation is still in need of precise formulation, and it remains controversial. On the one hand, supporters of explanationism take inference to the best explanation to be a justifying form of inference; some even take all justification to be a matter of explanatory reasoning. On the other hand, critics object that inference to the best explanation is not a fundamental form of inference, and some argue that we should be skeptical of inference to the best explanation in general. This volume brings together twenty philosophers to explore various aspects of inference to the best explanation and the debates surrounding it. These specially commissioned essays constitute the cutting edge of research on the role explanatory considerations play in epistemology and philosophy of science.

Full Product Details

9780198746904

Table of Contents

Reviews

This volume is sure to inspire further work on the nature and epistemic status of IBE, which will of course bear on the ultimate success of explanationist responses to skepticism. * Frank Cabrera, International Journal for the Study of Skepticism * a highly valuable resource for researchers, especially those whose interests lie primarily within epistemology, who will find here many excellent contributions to debates about the nature and epistemic status of IBE. In particular, this volume will be essential reading for those interested in (i) how IBE can or should be formulated within a broadly-speaking Bayesian framework for non-deductive reasoning, (ii) whether IBE is a fundamental or derivative form of inference, and (iii) whether IBE is, or can be shown to be, a justified, reliable or rational form of inference. * Finnur Dellsen, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *

This volume is sure to inspire further work on the nature and epistemic status of IBE, which will of course bear on the ultimate success of explanationist responses to skepticism. * Frank Cabrera, International Journal for the Study of Skepticism * a highly valuable resource for researchers, especially those whose interests lie primarily within epistemology, who will find here many excellent contributions to debates about the nature and epistemic status of IBE. In particular, this volume will be essential reading for those interested in (i) how IBE can or should be formulated within a broadly-speaking Bayesian framework for non-deductive reasoning, (ii) whether IBE is a fundamental or derivative form of inference, and (iii) whether IBE is, or can be shown to be, a justified, reliable or rational form of inference. * Finnur Dellsén, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *

a highly valuable resource for researchers, especially those whose interests lie primarily within epistemology, who will find here many excellent contributions to debates about the nature and epistemic status of IBE. In particular, this volume will be essential reading for those interested in (i) how IBE can or should be formulated within a broadly-speaking Bayesian framework for non-deductive reasoning, (ii) whether IBE is a fundamental or derivative form of inference, and (iii) whether IBE is, or can be shown to be, a justified, reliable or rational form of inference. * Finnur Dellsen, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *

a highly valuable resource for researchers, especially those whose interests lie primarily within epistemology, who will find here many excellent contributions to debates about the nature and epistemic status of IBE. In particular, this volume will be essential reading for those interested in (i) how IBE can or should be formulated within a broadly-speaking Bayesian framework for non-deductive reasoning, (ii) whether IBE is a fundamental or derivative form of inference, and (iii) whether IBE is, or can be shown to be, a justified, reliable or rational form of inference. * Finnur Dellsen, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews * This volume is sure to inspire further work on the nature and epistemic status of IBE, which will of course bear on the ultimate success of explanationist responses to skepticism. * Frank Cabrera, International Journal for the Study of Skepticism *

Author Information

Kevin McCain is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His research focuses on issues in epistemology and philosophy of science-particularly where these areas intersect. In addition to numerous journal articles, he has written two books: Evidentialism and Epistemic Justification (Routledge, 2014) and The Nature of Scientific Knowledge: An Explanatory Approach (Springer, 2016). Ted Poston is Professor of Philosophy at the University of South Alabama. He has written many articles in epistemology, philosophy of science, and philosophy of religion. His first book Reason and Explanation (Palgrave-Macmillan) offers a contemporary defense of explanatory coherentism. His second book, written with Adam Carter, A Critical Introduction to Knowledge-How (Bloomsbury) presents a sustained argument that knowledge-how is a unique grasp of non-propositional reality.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available