Ideas of Paul Thagard, by Theme

[Canadian, fl. 2000, Professor at the University of Waterloo, Canada.]

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2. Reason / A. Nature of Reason / 6. Coherence
Coherence problems have positive and negative restraints; solutions maximise constraint satisfaction
Coherence is explanatory, deductive, conceptual, analogical, perceptual, and deliberative
Explanatory coherence needs symmetry,explanation,analogy,data priority, contradiction,competition,acceptance
3. Truth / A. Truth Problems / 6. Verisimilitude
Verisimilitude comes from including more phenomena, and revealing what underlies
14. Science / B. Scientific Theories / 1. Scientific Theory
Neither a priori rationalism nor sense data empiricism account for scientific knowledge
14. Science / C. Induction / 6. Bayes's Theorem
Bayesian inference is forced to rely on approximations
14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / c. Explanations by coherence
2: An explanation must wholly cohere internally, and with the new fact [Smart]
1: Coherence is a symmetrical relation between two propositions [Smart]
4: For coherence, observation reports have a degree of intrinsic acceptability [Smart]
6: A proposition's acceptability depends on its coherence with a system [Smart]
3: If an analogous pair explain another analogous pair, then they all cohere [Smart]
5: Contradictory propositions incohere [Smart]
14. Science / D. Explanation / 3. Best Explanation / a. Best explanation
The best theory has the highest subjective (Bayesian) probability?