[Revised entry by James Fetzer on March 16, 2026.
Changes to: Main text, Bibliography]
Carl G. Hempel (1905 - 1997) was the principal proponent of the "covering law" theory of explanation and the paradoxes of confirmation as basic elements of the theory of science. A master of philosophical methodology, Hempel pursued explications of initially vague and ambiguous concepts, which were required to satisfy very specific criteria of adequacy. With Rudolf Carnap and Hans Reichenbach, he was instrumental in the transformation of the dominant philosophical movement of the 1930s and 40s, which was known as...