Explanation
A plausible explanation connects observations in a way that fits background understanding. This is valuable under uncertainty: inquiry often starts with reasonable possibilities. Yet plausibility is not interchangeable with truth, evidential support or a specified statistical probability. A familiar story can organise false assumptions coherently; a well-supported unfamiliar finding can initially seem implausible. The relevant questions are therefore to whom the claim makes sense, on what assumptions and under which possible checks. Agreement is not substituted for truth. Widely shared prejudice can support assent while failing independent examination. Plausibility should open investigation rather than impersonate its conclusion.
Movement of thought
1. Separate the appealing account from the observed facts. 2. Expose background assumptions that make it compelling. 3. Develop at least one alternative explanation. 4. Seek observations that could discriminate between them. 5. Retain, qualify or revise the judgement while stating residual uncertainty.
Scientific use case
A proposed study can vary the familiarity of backgrounds while measuring plausibility judgements separately from independently checked facts. This investigates assessment processes, not a psychological instrument for detecting truth.
Example
A train stops after a freezing night. Frozen points seem a plausible cause, but equipment failure or a blocked line remain possible. Information about the actual fault is more discriminating than another telling of the weather story. Original hypothetical example.
Counterexample
A coherent story is not sufficient evidence. Unfamiliarity alone does not refute a finding. Popular agreement and well-supported explanation can come apart in either direction.
Distinction
Truth is not merely felt coherence. Evidence can support or overturn plausibility. Enthymemes can draw on shared assumptions without being identical with plausibility. Statistical probability requires a more specifically articulated basis than an intuitively satisfying story.
Effect on thought and perception
“That makes sense” becomes a useful intermediate judgement. Recognising its status allows intuition to guide a search without granting it the authority of a completed proof.
Resonance
An explanation connects with the familiar. A competing possibility tests whether that connection remains defensible once its apparent inevitability has been interrupted.
Etymology
The Latin lexical background discussed by HWRh connects plausibilis with applause or approval. That background illuminates one dimension of the word; it does not establish that modern plausible means merely popular or supply a first English attestation.
Provenance
DE/EN editorially accepted on 15 October 2026. Historical context, language comparison and source status are shown separately in the full entry.
Cite this entry
Reich, Michael (Hrsg./ed.): „Plausibility“. Atlas der Sprache, AT-ADD-20261015-0012. ATLAS 259, data model 1.6.0. https://atlasoflanguage.com/concept/AT-ADD-20261015-0012The address remains stable; editorial content may evolve. Editorial reading state: 2026-10-15. Include your access date for precise references.
Guiding question
Why can an explanation feel right before we know whether it is correct?
Five coordinate questions
These descriptions explain the entry. They are not yet controlled register values and generate no shared register results.
- Where can the process be observed?
- A claim or explanation with its supporting background.
- What happens to the material?
- Establish apparent coherence and examine its assumptions.
- At what level does a change occur?
- Provisional judgement and further inquiry.
- What temporal structure is involved?
- Situated assessment with possible later revision.
- How can the description be tested?
- Seek alternatives and evidence that discriminates between them.
Historical context
The reference article traces changing emphases involving audience assent, accepted beliefs, probable argument and more proposition-centred assessment. The present inquiry protocol is an Atlas application rather than an inherited ancient checklist.
Cross-language distinction and terminology
Plausible, credible and probable overlap without sharing all criteria. English usage should therefore be analysed in context instead of being treated as a transparent reproduction of each German use of plausibel or wahrscheinlich.
Scholarly relations: explained reading links
Each relation is named and explained. These reading links are neither shared register results nor newly canonised relation edges.
Proposed thought pathway
How does a plausible connection become a testable claim?
Plausibility → Evidence → Truth → Plausibility
Countertest and return
A coherent story is not sufficient evidence. Unfamiliarity alone does not refute a finding. Popular agreement and well-supported explanation can come apart in either direction.
This route is an editorial exploration, not a necessary ordering of concepts. Return: Plausibility
Source scope and provenance
The texts are editorially accepted. Acceptance does not turn a reference article, abstract or register record into a full primary-source verification. Examples and the proposed thought sequence are independent Atlas applications.
- Historisches Wörterbuch der Rhetorik: Plausibilität · Sp. 1282–1284; Begriffserklärung und historischer Einstieg
Conceptual framework, documented disciplinary history and the lexical explanation within the cited passage.
A consulted reference article is distinguished from its cited historical originals. No exhaustive original-source audit or unsupported first attestation is claimed.