Marina DiMarco (University of Pittsburgh), Kareem Khalifa (Middlebury College)
In this paper, we offer a new account of the role of values in theory choice that captures a temporal dimension to the values themselves. We argue that non-epistemic values sometimes serve as 'prediction tickets:' they can motivate pursuing questions in the short run, and the answers to these questions alleviate transient underdetermination in the long run. Because evidence ultimately determines theory choice, prediction tickets are compatible with an ideal of value-free science. Moreover, our account can still replicate many advantages claimed by critics of the value-free ideal, most notably those advantages claimed by inductive risk theorists.
