Abstract
This chapter discusses several corresponding difficulties that arise in connection with the probabilistic rules of acceptance. The problem of the acceptability of hypotheses is interesting in the case of general propositions, for such propositions provide clear examples of the probabilistic character of empirical knowledge. Because of a rule that is given in the chapter, it is possible to justify the acceptability of many singular sentences if the acceptability of the corresponding generalizations can be justified. This aspect of the problem is of special interest from the point of view of the philosophy and methodology of science where general laws loom especially large. The chapter considers the acceptability of general sentences and singular sentences. The chapter also describes what is known as the “lottery paradox.”