Inference to the Best Explanation: The General Account

There is no clearly defined relation of explanation that confers special inductive support on some hypotheses or theories. The important, canonical examples of inference to the best explanation can be accommodated better by simpler schemes involving background facts. The successful hypotheses or theories accommodate the evidence. The major burden in real cases in science is to show that competing accounts fail, either by contradicting the evidence or taking on burdensome evidential debt.