The Plausibility-Informativeness Theory
نویسنده
چکیده
The problem addressed in this paper is this: 'the main epistemic problem concerning science ... is the explication of how we compare and evaluate theories '" in the light of the available evidence' (van Fraassen 1983: 27). In other and more mundane words, the question is: what is a good theory, and when is one theory better than another theory, given these data and those background assumptions? Let us call this the problem of a theory of theory evaluation. Its quantitative version can be put as follows:
منابع مشابه
Assessing theories, Bayes style
The problem adressed in this paper is “the main epistemic problem concerning science”, viz. “the explication of how we compare and evaluate theories [...] in the light of the available evidence” (van Fraassen 1983: 27). Sections 1-3 contain the general plausibility-informativeness theory of theory assessment. In a nutshell, the message is (1) that there are two values a theory should exhibit: t...
متن کاملThe Logic of Theory Assessment
This paper starts by indicating the analysis of Hempel’s conditions of adequacy for any relation of confirmation (Hempel 1945) as presented in Huber (submitted). There I argue contra Carnap (1962, §87) that Hempel felt the need for two concepts of confirmation: one aiming at plausible theories and another aiming at informative theories. However, he also realized that these two concepts are conf...
متن کاملPUNC: A Model of Conceptual Combination
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1 Department of Computer Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland. Email [email protected] Abstract. We present a model of conceptual combination, PUNC, based on the Constraint Theory of conceptual combination ([1], [2]). This model incorporates the primary constraints of the Constraint Theory; Informativeness, Diagnos...
متن کاملBook Review: "Developing Expertise Through Experience"
The book ‘Developing expertise through experience’consists of twenty chapters written by language educators. Alan Maley has edited the book. The writers of the chapters have written their stories and experiences about learning English and being an Educator with regard to the notion of ‘sense of plausibility’ defined by Prabhu. Prabhu explains that plausibility in pedagogy is teachers’ intuition...
متن کاملPolysemy in Conceptual Combination: Testing the Constraint Theory of Combination
Most novel noun-noun combinations are polysemous in that they tend to suggest several possible meanings. A finger cup can be a cup in which fingers are washed, a cup shaped like a finger, a narrow cup and so on. In this paper, we present a new theory of concept combination, the constraint theory, that accounts for the polysemy of noun-noun combinations. Constraint theory, which uses three const...
متن کامل