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    Carmelics

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    Inverse View

    It is not the case that A theory that entails more but applies to fewer actual measurement practices is less general in the philosophically relevant sense, per Quine's criterion of ontological parsimony.

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    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.Generality and parsimony are distinct virtues; a theory can be ontologically sparse yet broadly applicable—these dimensions don't trade off necessarily.
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    • 2.Restricting theories to current measurement practices ignores future discoveries; Quine himself emphasized that observation and theory evolve together.
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    • 3.Entailing more consequences with broader applicability may reveal deeper unifying principles, which Quine values—parsimony applies to *kinds* of entities, not scope.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
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    • 1.Ontological parsimony favors theories positing fewer entities, making scope-limited theories with minimal commitments philosophically superior.
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    • 2.A theory applying to fewer actual practices generates fewer false positives and explains only what genuinely occurs, avoiding idle theoretical posits.
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    • 3.Quine's criterion prioritizes what exists over what could exist, so applicability to actual measurement practices is the relevant metric for generality.
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