Cosmological Inflation and Meta-Empirical Theory Assessment

Understand

I apply Dawid's Meta-Empirical Assessment (MEA) methodology to the theory of cosmological inflation.

• I argue that applying this methodology does not currently offer a compelling case for ascribing non-empirical confirmation to cosmological inflation.
• In particular, I argue that despite displaying strong instances of Unexpected Explanatory Coherence (UEA), it is premature to evaluate the theory on the basis of the No Alternatives Argument (NAA).
• More significantly though, I argue that the theory of cosmological inflation fails to sustain a convincing Meta-Inductive Argument (MIA) because the empirical evidence and theoretical successes that it seeks to draw meta-empirical support from do not warrant a meta-inductive inference to inflation.