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Irrelevant Conjunction: Statement and Solution of a New Paradox

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Vincenzo Crupi  and
Katya Tentori
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Abstract

The so-called problem of irrelevant conjunction has been seen as a serious challenge for theories of confirmation. It involves the consequences of conjoining irrelevant statements to a hypothesis that is confirmed by some piece of evidence. Following Hawthorne and Fitelson, we reconstruct the problem with reference to Bayesian confirmation theory. Then we extend it to the case of conjoining irrelevant statements to a hypothesis that is disconfirmed by some piece of evidence. As a consequence, we obtain and formally present a novel and more troublesome problem of irrelevant conjunction. We conclude by indicating a possible solution based on a measure-sensitive approach and by critically discussing a major alternative way to address the problem.

Type
Research Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 77 , Issue 1 , January 2010 , pp. 1 - 13
Copyright
Copyright © The Philosophy of Science Association

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Footnotes

‡

Research was supported by a grant from the Spanish Department of Science and Innovation (FFI2008–01169/FISO). We would like to thank Branden Fitelson and Roberto Festa for very useful exchanges and Valeriano Iranzo and an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments.

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