Review by Choice Review
This volume offers 17 essays that focus on what epistemologists call inference to the best explanation (IBE). The issue of IBE relates to explanatory theory, i.e., what constitutes an explanation of some phenomenon--as opposed to a mere description--and to confirmation theory, i.e., what constitutes something as confirming evidence for some hypothesis. What criteria and procedures provide inferential justification for the appropriate acceptance of a hypothesis? The editors have brought together many of the most recognized names in the field to address this matter, including Igor Douven, Richard Fumerton, Elizabeth Fricker, and Alexander Bird. The papers include both defenses of IBE and criticisms of it, and range over various related topics, such as general skepticism, as well as applications of IBE to science (for example, the viability of group selection theory in biology) and common reasoning (such as the trustworthiness of testimony in everyday conversations). That said, the papers are highly technical and require fairly extensive and substantive familiarity with formal epistemology. They are accessible to a professional audience only, but for that audience they are truly on the cutting edge of scholarship. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty, and professionals. --David B. Boersema, emeritus, Pacific University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review