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Full Idea
It is objected to 'best explanation' that beauty is in the eye of the beholder - the goodness of possible explanations is subjective, and so the choice of best explanation is also subjective, and hence not a suitable guide to truth.
Gist of Idea
Which explanation is 'best' is bound to be subjective, and no guide to truth
Source
Alexander Bird (Philosophy of Science [1998], Ch.4)
Book Ref
Bird,Alexander: 'Philosophy of Science' [UCL Press 2000], p.157
A Reaction
Explanation is indeed dependent both on the knowledge of the person involved, and on their interests. That doesn't, though, mean that you can choose any old explanation. Causal networks are features of the world.
| 21386 | We should accept as explanations all the plausible ways in which something could come about [Epicurus] |
| 12769 | Inference to best explanation contains all sorts of hidden values [Fraassen] |
| 6784 | Why should the true explanation be one of the few we have actually thought of? [Fraassen, by Bird] |
| 16183 | In science, best explanations have regularly turned out to be false [Cartwright,N] |
| 16821 | Must we only have one explanation, and must all the data be made relevant? [Lipton] |
| 16838 | Bayesians say best explanations build up an incoherent overall position [Lipton] |
| 16855 | The best theory is boring: compare 'all planets move elliptically' with 'most of them do' [Lipton] |
| 16852 | Best explanation can't be a guide to truth, because the truth must precede explanation [Lipton] |
| 3113 | The success and virtue of an explanation do not guarantee its truth [Segal] |
| 6788 | Maybe bad explanations are the true ones, in this messy world [Bird] |
| 6787 | Which explanation is 'best' is bound to be subjective, and no guide to truth [Bird] |