ABSTRACT
In comparison to the natural and social sciences, the humanities have received comparatively little attention from the analytic philosophy of science. This discipline has been concerned primarily with the sciences narrowly construed. In particular confirmation theory, the systematic study of theory evaluation, shows remarkable lacunas when it comes to the methodology of the humanities. But developments in the humanities and in conformation theory invite us to reconsider this situation. First, due to the fast uptake of empirical and computational methods in several humanities disciplines, the humanities are presently very much in flux, and much more amenable to methodological elucidation. Second, confirmation theory has over the past decade significantly broadened its scope, and made contact with developments in mathematics and computer science. It is in a good position to take on new challenges.
