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    Consistency with the diversity constraint achieved throug... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→Abell's resemblance theory of depiction is consistent with the diversity constraint

    Consistency with the diversity constraint achieved through under-specification is therefore consistency achieved by rendering the theory unfalsifiable rather than genuinely explanatory.

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    Reasons For

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    Reason for
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    • 1.Unfalsifiable theories lack empirical constraints and thus cannot be tested against reality, making them scientifically vacuous regardless of consistency.
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    • 2.Under-specification deliberately avoids specific predictions to accommodate contradictory observations, prioritizing rhetorical coherence over explanatory power.
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    • 3.A genuinely explanatory theory must restrict possible outcomes; if a theory permits all outcomes, it explains none of them.
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    Reasons Against

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    • 1.Unfalsifiability and under-specification are distinct problems; a vague theory may still exclude some outcomes and thus retain explanatory content.
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    • 2.Many successful scientific theories (quantum mechanics, evolution) initially faced charges of vagueness yet proved deeply explanatory through refinement.
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    • 3.Consistency is itself a substantive epistemic virtue that can explain why a theory survives scrutiny better than competitors, independent of falsifiability.
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    Key Terms

    Genuinely explanatory(contrasted with being 'explanatorily idle')
    An explanation that actually helps us understand *why* something is the case, rather than just describing what is the case.
    Unfalsifiable(describes the main problem with the hypothesis)
    A statement or theory that's impossible to prove wrong because it's designed in a way that any evidence against it can be reinterpreted to support it instead.
    consistency(Syntactic concept in many-sorted logic)
    The syntactic counterpart of satisfiability; corresponds to satisfiability in the same sense as ⊢ corresponds to ⊨
    diversity constraint(Constraint on theories of pictorial depiction)
    A requirement that an adequate resemblance theory of depiction must accommodate the wide variety of stylistic conventions that have developed in different artistic traditions
    under-specification(Example: 'one of the seller's warehouses')
    A contractual term that fails to specify which of multiple possible referents is intended.

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    Related

    A genuinely explanatory theory must restrict possible outcomes; if a theory perm...Abell's resemblance theory of depiction is consistent with the diversity constra...Consistency is itself a substantive epistemic virtue that can explain why a theo...Many successful scientific theories (quantum mechanics, evolution) initially fac...
    +3 moreShow less
    Under-specification deliberately avoids specific predictions to accommodate cont...Unfalsifiability and under-specification are distinct problems; a vague theory m...

    Details

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    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit
    Unfalsifiable theories lack empirical constraints and thus cannot be tested agai...