Theoretical Simplicity and Defeasibility

Dados Bibliográficos

ID10707482
AutoresEvan Fales (University of Iowa, autor correspondente)
Ano1978
Volume45
Fascículo2
Páginas273-288
Data de publicação1978-06-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoPhilosophy of Science (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0031-8248 • E-ISSN: 1539-767X
EditoraCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1086/288800
OpenAlexW1986185996
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas3
Referências citadas12

Theoretical simplicity is difficult to characterize, and evidently can depend upon a number of distinct factors. One such desirable characteristic is that the laws of a theory have relatively few “counterinstances” whose accommodation requires the invocation of a ceteris paribus condition and ancillary explanation. It is argued that, when one theory is reduced to another, such that the laws of the second govern the behavior of the parts of the entities in the domain of the first, there is a characteristic gain in simplicity of the sort mentioned: while I see no way of quantitatively measuring the “amount” of defeasibility of the laws of a theory, microreduction can be shown to decrease that “amount.”

Ceteris paribus · Defeasible reasoning · Domain (mathematical analysis) · Epistemology · Invocation · Mathematical analysis · Mathematical economics · Simplicity · sort · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Law · Mathematics · Philosophy · Philosophy and History of Science · Philosophy and Theoretical Science · Quantum Mechanics and Applications