Falsification or Confirmation: From Logic to Psychology

Abstract

Corroboration or confirmation is a prominent philosophical debate of the 20th century. Many philosophers have been involved in this debate most notably the proponents of confirmation led by Hempel and its most powerful criticism by the falsificationists led by Popper. In both cases however the debates were primarily based on the arguments from logic. In this paper we review these debates and suggest that a different perspective on falsification versus confirmation can be taken by grounding arguments in cognitive psychology.