Cumulative Case Legal Arguments and the Justification of Academic Affirmative Action

Abstract

When something is true or valuable, we can often give a simple account of why this is so. There may be some single reason or some overwhelming item of evidence that underlies the truth or value in question. Even if we think that there are several different reasons why something is true or valuable, one of those reasons standing alone may establish the point. We might, for example, sufficiently account for the truth of our belief that it suddenly became dark by noting that someone just flicked the light switch. Under other circumstances, we might point instead to the onset of a solar eclipse. These simple explanations are not complete in themselves, but they may be all we need.