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Full Idea
The distinctive significance of anomalies lies in the fact that they undermine the claim of the allegedly basic explanatory principles to be genuinely basic.
Gist of Idea
Anomalies challenge the claim that the basic explanations are actually basic
Source
Laurence Bonjour (The Structure of Empirical Knowledge [1985], 5.3)
Book Ref
Bonjour,Laurence: 'The Structure of Empirical Knowledge' [Harvard 1985], p.99
A Reaction
This seems plausible, suggesting that (rather than an anomaly flatly 'falsifying' a theory) an anomaly may just demand a restructuring or reconceptualising of the theory.
| 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] |