Competition and Underdetermination
- A theory is underdetermined if another inconsistent theory can account
for the evidence which accounts for at least as much of the evidence.
- Underdetermination leads to a competition between theories.
- Scientists will try to find new evidence to support their theory.
- This can lead to the development of a new theory, or the
combination of the theories.
- This can be a particularly fertile time for the area as
people are actively engaged in the debate.
- An example of competition between theories is the competion
between string theory vs. the standard model.
- Another is between Darwinian and Lamarckian Inheritence.
- A third is between symbolic and sub-symbolic AI.
