Trent Dougherty - Evidence: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide

EVIDENCE

OXFORD BIBLIOGRAPHIES ONLINE RESEARCH GUIDE

Trent Dougherty

Baylor University

2011 by Oxford University Press, Inc.

ISBN: 9780199808786

TABLE OF CONTENTS

OXFORD BIBLIOGRAPHIES ONLINE RESEARCH GUIDE

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OXFORD BIBLIOGRAPHIES ONLINE | Philosophy

Authority and Innovation for Scholarly Research Written by a leading international authority and bearing the Oxford University Press stamp of excellence, this article is a definitive guide to the most important resources on the topic. The article combines annotated citations, expert recommendations, and narrative pathways through the most important scholarly sources in both print and online formats. All materials recommended in this article were reviewed by the author, and the article has been organized in tiers ranging from general to highly specialized, saving valuable time by allowing researchers to easily narrow or broaden their focus among only the most trusted scholarly sources. This is just one of many articles within the subject area of Atlantic History, which is itself just one of the many subjects covered by Oxford Bibliographies Onlinea revolutionary resource designed to cut through academic information overload by guiding researchers to exactly the right book chapter, journal article, website, archive, or data set they need.

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INTRODUCTION

This entry will focus on contemporary discussions concerning what items of evidence are and when items constitute evidence for a theory. The first issue we might call the ontology of evidence. Does evidence consists in objects, events, experiences, or propositions? The dominant tradition in philosophy is that our ultimate evidence is grounded in sense experience. However, this theory has been subject to persistent criticisms. Once this question is settled, however, the question remains when such a thing counts as evidence for a theory. The most widely discussed theory here is that an event E counts as evidence for a theory H when E raises the probability of H. As commonsense as this sounds, there are some difficult problems trying to model evidential support probabilistically.

GENERAL OVERVIEWS

These volumes represent both historical surveys and particular points of view, sometimes more overtly expressed than others. Achinstein 2001 is an extended and very opinionated study of evidence, especially as it concerns probability. Hacking 2006 gives a conceptual history of the notion of evidence and how it eventually became intertwined with the mathematical theory of probability. Franklin 2001 is a very extensive historical survey of the notion of evidence, especially as it relates to a probabilistic account.

Achinstein, Peter. The Book of Evidence . New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.

An extended and very opinionated study of evidence, especially as it concerns probability. The author is not sympathetic to a wholly probabilistic account, seeing explanation as a necessary concomitant.

Franklin, James. The Science of Conjecture . Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001.

Very extensive historical survey of the notion of evidence, especially as it relates to a probabilistic account. At times very critical of Hacking 2006, though it isnt always obvious that the criticisms are well-placed. The author shows an absolutely amazing breadth of knowledge and sensitivity to historical detail.

Hacking, Ian. The Emergence of Probability . 2d ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006.

Though its principle aim is the emergence of a specifically probabilistic concept, there is much here for the reader interested in the more general notion of evidence. In particular, the first five chapters will be of interest even to those who have little sympathy for probabilistic accounts of evidence. The first edition was published in 1975. The only addition in the 2006 update is an introduction contextualizing the contents in light of new research.

ANTHOLOGIES

Since much of the thought about evidence among philosophers concerns scientific theories, many of these anthologies are from the perspective of the philosophy of science. Achinstein 1983 contains some very important selections of early 20th-century work. Earman 1983 contains several seminal articles on how evidence confirms scientific theories. Several of the most important early replies to the Problem of Old Evidence appear here. Swinburne 2002 has articles both defending and criticizing specifically probabilistic accounts of evidence.

Achinstein, Peter. The Concept of Evidence . New York: Oxford University Press, 1983.

Contains some very important selections of early work, including Hempel and Carnap.

Earman, John. Testing Scientific Theories . Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1983.

Contains several seminal articles on how evidence confirms scientific theories. Several of the most important early replies to the Problem of Old Evidence appear here, including Glymour and Jeffrey.

Swinburne, Richard. Bayess Theorem . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Contains a number of essays for and against a probabilistic account of evidence. Essays by Swinburne, Sober, Howson, Earman, and David Miller. Includes an interesting essay on evidence and the law by A. P. Dawid.

REFERENCE WORKS

There are several useful entries in reference works both in print and online. Audi 2006 is a short and very general consideration of the issue. Feldman 1992 and Feldman 1999 are excellent orientations on the subject. Kelley 2006 and DeFate 2007 go into more detail, and their entries have large bibliographies.

Audi, Robert. Reasons for Belief. In The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy . Edited by Edward Craig. London: Routledge, 2006.

A short and very general but insightful consideration of the issue. Available online to subscribers only.

DeFate, Victor. Evidence
URL: (http://www.iep.utm.edu/e/evidence.htm). In The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy . Edited by James Fieser and Bradley Dowden. 2007.

A good narration of some of the main dialectics covered in this bibliography. Contains a narration of further problems for a probabilistic account of providing a reason.