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Common Sense, inference to the best explanation, and the no miracles hypothesis

The "no miracles hypothesis" (NMH) applies a form of reasoning called "inference to the best explanation" (IBE) to argue that scientific success is best explained by its truthfulness. After all, if science were successful but devoid of truth, then that success would seem miraculous.  Truthfulness is a better explanation than miraculousness; hence science's success is better explained by its truthfulness

The objection to NMH is that it is an example of the very thing it is trying to justify: NMH is itself an inference to the best explanation, hence it can't be used to justify IBE without circularity.

But IBE itself already has a kind of support in our common sense reasoning (as does truth); hence its use to argue that science gets us at the truth may seen as an application of common sense convictions to science.  On the basis of common sense, it seems more likely that science gets us at the truth than it is a miracle or coincidence.  If NMH is circular reasoning, then it is not a vicious circle.  Rather, it's a kind of enlargening of the circle of common sense so as to include the principles of scientific reasoning.

Next, I want to look at Alvin Plantinga's critique of materialism as undermining evolutionary theory... I have a hunch that the above discussion of common sense and circularity is relevant to that.

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