Inference to the Best Explanation

includes index and biblioraphy

1 Induction Under determination 5 Justification 7 Description 11 2 Explanation Understanding explanation 21 Reason, familiarity, deduction, unification, necessity 23 3 The causal model Fact and foil 30 Failed reductions and false differences 37 Causal triangulation 41 4 Inference to the Best Explanation Spelling out the slogan 55 Attractions and repulsions 64 5 Contrastive inference A case study 71 Explanation and deduction 82 6 The raven paradox 91 Unsuitable contrasts 91 The Method of Agreement 99 7 Bayesian abduction 103 The Bayesian approach 103 The Bayesian and the explanationist should be friends 107 Contrastive inference revisited 117 8 Explanation as a guide to inference 121 The guiding claim 121 Improved coverage 126 Explanatory obsessions 128 From cause to explanation 132 9 Loveliness and truth 142 Voltaire`s objection 142 The two-stage process 148 Is the best good enough? 151 10 Prediction and prejudice 164 The puzzle 164 The fudging explanation 168 Actual and assessed support 177 11 Truth and explanation 184 Circularity 184 A bad explanation 192 The scientific evidence 198