ABSTRACT
It is impossible to either prove or disprove a hypothesis about nature. Plausibility rather than proof, is the criterion that must be used for deciding if a hypothesis about nature is to be tentatively accepted. Judgments based on plausibility provide an adequate basis for choosing among hypotheses in spite of the (a) underdetermination of theories by observations, (b) the Duhem-Quine thesis, and (c) the theory-ladenness of observation. That decisions are based on plausibility rather than proof is another reason why science is fallible, especially given the cognitive frailties of human thinking. The method of multiple hypotheses is well suited to reliance on a criterion of plausibility and has evolved as the method of choice because of the fallibility of science.
