Inference to the Best Explanation, Bayesianism, and the Screening-Off Challenge: A Critical Review
Abstract In their 2013 paper, William Roche and Elliott Sober used Bayesian confirmation theory and the probabilistic concept of screening-off to pose problems for the epistemological theory of Inference to the Best Explanation. Several philosophers replied to those criticisms and Roche and Sober refined and extended their critique in subsequent papers. This article assesses where the debate now stands.
Authors
- William Roche
- Elliott Sober
Institutions
- Texas Christian University (US)
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
- Stanford University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal for General Philosophy of Science
- Published
- 2026-02-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10838-025-09744-6
- Primary Topic
- Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00