Combining Philosophers

Ideas for Karl Popper, Numenius and Daniel C. Dennett

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3 ideas

14. Science / C. Induction / 1. Induction
Brains are essentially anticipation machines [Dennett]
     Full Idea: All brains are, in essence, anticipation machines.
     From: Daniel C. Dennett (Consciousness Explained [1991], 7.2)
     A reaction: This would necessarily, I take it, make them induction machines. So brains will only evolve in a world where induction is possible, which is one where there a lot of immediately apprehensible regularities.
14. Science / C. Induction / 3. Limits of Induction
There is no such thing as induction [Popper, by Magee]
     Full Idea: According to Popper, induction is a dispensable concept, a myth. It does not exist. There is no such thing.
     From: report of Karl Popper (The Logic of Scientific Discovery [1934]) by Bryan Magee - Popper Ch.2
     A reaction: This is a nice bold summary of the Popper view - that falsification is the underlying rational activity which we mistakenly think is verification by repeated observations. Put like this, Popper seems to be wrong. We obviously learn from experiences.
14. Science / C. Induction / 4. Reason in Induction
Science cannot be shown to be rational if induction is rejected [Newton-Smith on Popper]
     Full Idea: If Popper follows Hume in abandoning induction, there is no way in which he can justify the claims that there is growth of scientific knowledge and that science is a rational activity.
     From: comment on Karl Popper (The Logic of Scientific Discovery [1934]) by W.H. Newton-Smith - The Rationality of Science III.3