The authorship of the Iliad and the Odyssey has long been debated. Some traditional evidence suggests that Homer created both works, or at least large portions of them, but there is equally forceful evidence that he had nothing to do with either. Since there is no overwhelming evidence for either claim, we ought to accept the verdict of tradition that Homer is the principal author of both works.
Question: Which one of the following most accurately expresses the principle underlying the argumentation above?
Options:
A. If there is no overwhelming evidence for or against a hypothesis, then one should suspend judgment as to its truth.
B. If a hypothesis goes against tradition, one should not accept the hypothesis without overwhelming evidence.
C. If there is no overwhelming evidence for or against a hypothesis, one should believe it.
D. One should accept the authority of tradition only if one has nontraditional evidence for the traditional hypothesis.
E. One should defer to the authority of tradition if two or more hypotheses conflict with it.
Answer: B