2021/09/15 by C.D. McCoy, C. D. McCoy · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · #Philosophy and History of Science #Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics
paper · doi:10.1016/j.shpsa.2021.09.002
Eliminative reasoning is a method that has been employed in many significant episodes in the history of science. It has also been advocated by some philosophers as an important means for justifying well-established scientific theories. Arguments for how eliminative reasoning is able to do so, however, have generally relied on a too narrow conception of evidence, and have therefore tended to lapse into merely heuristic or pragmatic justifications for their conclusions. This paper shows how a broader conception of evidence not only can supply the needed justification but also illuminates the methodological significance of eliminative reasoning in a variety of contexts.