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Single Idea 17070

[filed under theme 2. Reason / A. Nature of Reason / 6. Coherence ]

Full Idea

I shall make use of the admittedly imprecise notions of consilience, simplicity, analogy and fitting into a web of belief, or in short of 'coherence'.

Clarification

'consilience' is the convergence of varied evidence

Gist of Idea

Coherence is consilience, simplicity, analogy, and fitting into a web of belief

Source

J.J.C. Smart (Explanation - Opening Address [1990], p.06)

Book Ref

'Explanation and Its Limits', ed/tr. Knowles,Dudley [CUP 1990], p.6

A Reaction

Coherence sounds like a family of tests, rather than a single unified concept. I still like coherence, though.

Related Idea

Idea 17071 An explanation is better if it also explains phenomena from a different field [Smart]

The 18 ideas from J.J.C. Smart

17061 Explanation of a fact is fitting it into a system of beliefs [Smart]
17062 If scientific explanation is causal, that rules out mathematical explanation [Smart]
17063 Unlike Newton, Einstein's general theory explains the perihelion of Mercury [Smart]
17070 Coherence is consilience, simplicity, analogy, and fitting into a web of belief [Smart]
17072 We need comprehensiveness, as well as self-coherence [Smart]
17071 An explanation is better if it also explains phenomena from a different field [Smart]
17073 I simply reject evidence, if it is totally contrary to my web of belief [Smart]
17074 Explanations are bad by fitting badly with a web of beliefs, or fitting well into a bad web [Smart]
17075 Scientific explanation tends to reduce things to the unfamiliar (not the familiar) [Smart]
17076 Deducing from laws is one possible way to achieve a coherent explanation [Smart]
17077 The height of a flagpole could be fixed by its angle of shadow, but that would be very unusual [Smart]
17078 Universe expansion explains the red shift, but not vice versa [Smart]
22405 Negative utilitarianism implies that the world should be destroyed, to avoid future misery [Smart]
22404 Any group interested in ethics must surely have a sentiment of generalised benevolence [Smart]
14611 Metaphysics should avoid talk of past, present or future [Smart]
14614 The past, present, future and tenses of A-theory are too weird, and should be analysed indexically [Smart]
14613 Special relativity won't determine a preferred frame, but we can pick one externally [Smart]
14615 If time flows, then 'how fast does it flow?' is a tricky question [Smart]