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Full Idea
There are some occasions when both prosecution and defence should positively suppress the facts in favour of probability, if the facts are improbable.
Gist of Idea
If the apparent facts strongly conflict with probability, it is in everyone's interests to suppress the facts
Source
Plato (Phaedrus [c.366 BCE], 272e)
Book Ref
Plato: 'Phaedrus and Letters VII and VIII', ed/tr. Hamilton,Walter [Penguin 1973], p.93
Related Idea
Idea 17073 I simply reject evidence, if it is totally contrary to my web of belief [Smart]
| 165 | If the apparent facts strongly conflict with probability, it is in everyone's interests to suppress the facts [Plato] |
| 16860 | Inductive generalisation is more reliable than one of its instances; they can't all be wrong [Mill] |
| 15881 | We can save laws from counter-instances by treating the latter as analytic definitions [Harré] |
| 3862 | All theories contain anomalies, and so are falsified! [Newton-Smith] |
| 3863 | The anomaly of Uranus didn't destroy Newton's mechanics - it led to Neptune's discovery [Newton-Smith] |
| 3864 | Anomalies are judged against rival theories, and support for the current theory [Newton-Smith] |
| 21508 | Anomalies challenge the claim that the basic explanations are actually basic [Bonjour] |