Combining Texts

Ideas for 'Are there propositions?', 'Letter to Pythocles' and 'Semantics, Conceptual Role'

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14. Science / D. Explanation / 3. Best Explanation / c. Against best explanation
We should accept as explanations all the plausible ways in which something could come about [Epicurus]
     Full Idea: The phases of the Moon could happen in all the ways [at least four] which the phenomena in our experience suggest for the explanation of this kind of thing - as long as one is not so enamoured of unique explanations as to groundlessly reject the others.
     From: Epicurus (Letter to Pythocles [c.292 BCE], 94)
     A reaction: Very interesting, for IBE. While you want to embrace the 'best', it is irrational to reject all of the other candidates, simply because you want a single explanation, if there are no good grounds for the rejection.