The problematic importance of hypotheses

Abstract

Contrary to what seems to have become established dogma in the behavioral sciences, the confirmational relevance of some data possibility D to a conjecture H should be indifferent to which of these two prospects we think of first. In particular, if ascertaining whether D is true would be a hypothetico-deductive test of hypothesis H were D's implication by H declared at outset, the confirmational relevance of D to H is not diminished by learning D before becoming aware that H implies it. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.