Single Idea 16830

[catalogued under 14. Science / A. Basis of Science / 6. Falsification]

Full Idea

Popper's mistake is to hold that disconfirmation and elimination work exclusively through refutation.

Gist of Idea

We don't only reject hypotheses because we have falsified them

Source

comment on Karl Popper (The Logic of Scientific Discovery [1934]) by Peter Lipton - Inference to the Best Explanation (2nd) 05 'Explanation'

Book Reference

Lipton,Peter: 'Inference to the Best Explanation (2nd ed)' [Routledge 2004], p.87


A Reaction

The point is that we reject hypotheses even if they have not actually been refuted, on the grounds that they don't give a good explanation. I agree entirely with Lipton.

Related Idea

Idea 16829 We reject deductive explanations if they don't explain, not if the deduction is bad [Lipton]