CF Dictionary · Evaluating Ideas & Arguments
Decisive Criticism
A criticism that, if accepted, makes the targeted IGC impossible to accept — it refutes.
Also: decisive argument
A decisive criticism is a criticism that contradicts the truth of its target IGC: if you accept the criticism, you cannot accept the IGC.
A decisive positive argument would contradict the falsity of its target — i.e., it would prove the IGC true. CF (with CR) holds that such positive arguments are either rare or entirely inaccessible.
Why decisive negative criticisms are common
- A single counter-example refutes a universal claim.
- A single factual contradiction refutes an empirical claim.
- A single internal contradiction refutes a logical claim.
The asymmetry
Decisive criticisms are accessible because of the asymmetry between refutation and confirmation:
- One counter-example suffices for refutation.
- A million confirming observations cannot decisively confirm a universal claim (the next observation could be different).
This is why CF is built around criticism, not around positive evidence. Criticism is the cheap, decisive lever; positive evidence is expensive and indecisive.
"Criticisms should be decisive, rather than mere disputes or even strong arguments." — criticalfallibilism.com