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DOES A GREEN LEAF CONFIRM THAT ALL RAVENS ARE BLACK? BRIEF REFLECTIONS ON A PARADOX OF CONFIRMATION1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 December 2013

Tim Miles
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Abstract

The paradox is that a natural idea of what counts as confirmation implies that a green leaf confirms the hypothesis that all ravens are black. The following brief paper explains this paradox, proposes a resolution in terms of relative frequency, and suggests that this shows a link between confirmation and falsification.

Type
Research Article
Information
Think , Volume 13 , Issue 36 , Spring 2014 , pp. 89 - 92
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Institute of Philosophy 2014 

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References

Note

1 This paradox is due to Carl Hempel. See ‘Studies in the Logic of Confirmation’ in his collection Aspects of Scientific Explanation.