Phi 270 Fall 2013 |
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1.1.xa. Exercise answers
1. |
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2. | a. |
Nothing definite can be concluded. The successful test tells you that some true information has been extracted from the hypothesis and auxiliary assumptions. But that can be so even if the hypothesis is not true since a body of information that is not true as a whole can still contain true information. For example, even if the prediction of the result of one test holds true, predictions about other tests may not. |
b. |
You can conclude that the hypothesis is false provided that the auxiliary assumptions are all true. The unsuccessful test tells you that a false prediction has been extracted from the hypothesis together with auxiliary assumptions about the test, but this can happen even if the information provided by the hypothesis itself is entirely accurate. The prediction may have failed, for example, because of incorrect assumptions about the way some apparatus would work. |