Corroboration

The state of a theory having survived a novel Criticism.

Corroboration includes successful accommodation of new data, matching experimental predictions, and consistency review. A corroborated theory is not proven — it has merely withstood attempts to refute it so far. Corroboration increases our rational preference for a theory without conferring certainty.

Connections

• •Result of surviving Criticism — the positive outcome of the conjecture-criticism cycle
• •Distinct from proof — corroboration never yields certainty
• •Contrasts with falsification — which eliminates rival theories
• •Produced by Evidence that matches predictions
• •Central to Critical Rationalism — theories gain status through corroboration, not justification
• •Replaces the justificationist demand for proof
• •Related to Conjecture — only conjectures that survive criticism earn corroboration