Explanation v. Prediction: Which Carries More Weight?

PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1994:156 - 164 (1994)
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Abstract

Do predictions of novel facts provide stronger evidence for a theory than explanations of old ones? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Which obtains has nothing to do with whether the evidence is predicted or explained, but only with the selection procedure used to generate the evidence. This is demonstrated by reference to a series of hypothetical drug cases and to Heinrich Hertz's 1883 cathode ray experiments.

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Peter Achinstein
Johns Hopkins University

Citations of this work

Predictive hypotheses are ineffectual in resolving complex biochemical systems.Michael Fry - 2018 - History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 40 (2):25.

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