Solomon's judgment: a short essay on proof

Abstract

We have no evidence that permits us to judge the accuracy of Solomon's judgment. But we can conduct the following thought experiment: if we assume that he did in fact get it right, how can we explain this assumption? Arguments are given for rejecting such explanations as compassion, logical deduction, and comparative probabilities as being less plausible than the explanation that Solomon assessed the credibility of the litigants by their demeanor.