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Full Idea
The simplest way of fitting the putative observed phenomena of telepathy or clairvoyance into my web of belief is to refuse to take them at face value.
Gist of Idea
I simply reject evidence, if it is totally contrary to my web of belief
Source
J.J.C. Smart (Explanation - Opening Address [1990], p.07-8)
Book Ref
'Explanation and Its Limits', ed/tr. Knowles,Dudley [CUP 1990], p.8
A Reaction
Love it. It is very disconcerting for the sceptical naturalist to be faced with adamant claims that the paranormal has occurred, but my response is exactly the same as Smart's. I reject the reports, no matter how passionately they are asserted.
Related Idea
Idea 165 If the apparent facts strongly conflict with probability, it is in everyone's interests to suppress the facts [Plato]
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] |