Abstract
Abduction, also known as, inference to the best explanation, is employed in factual and normative inquiry. In this paper, I answer the question: where is the limit to abduction’s explanatory power? To answer this question, I examine Hobbes’s Leviathan and Descartes’s Discourse on Method. I compare Hobbes’s empirical beliefs about human psychology and Descartes’s micro mechanical explanations with Hobbes’s discussion of religion. As a result of this analysis, I argue that there is at least one case where religion is the limit to abduction’s explanatory power, and that case is Hobbes’s discussion of religion.
Recommended Citation
Salomon, Aaron
(2023)
"Where is the Limit to Abduction’s Explanatory Power?,"
International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities: Vol. 5:
Iss.
2, Article 10.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7710/2155-4838.1079
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/ijurca/vol5/iss2/10
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