Single Idea 21508

[catalogued under 14. Science / A. Basis of Science / 5. Anomalies]

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 Reference

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.