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Single Idea 6352

[filed under theme 14. Science / C. Induction / 1. Induction ]

Full Idea

Enumerative induction examines a sample of objects, observes they all have a property, and infers that they all have that property; statistical induction observes a proportion of the objects having the property, and infers that proportion in general.

Gist of Idea

Enumerative induction gives a universal judgement, while statistical induction gives a proportion

Source

J Pollock / J Cruz (Contemporary theories of Knowledge (2nd) [1999], §1.4.6)

Book Ref

Pollock,J.L./Cruz,J: 'Contemporary Theories of Knowledge (2nd)' [Rowman and Littlefield 1999], p.19

A Reaction

There is also induction by elimination, where it is either p or q, and observation keeps saying it isn't p. A small sample is very unreliable, but a huge sample (e.g. cigarettes and cancer) is almost certain, so where is the small/huge boundary?

Related Ideas

Idea 4800 Natural laws result from eliminative induction, where enumerative induction gives generalisations [Cohen,LJ, by Psillos]

Idea 18610 'Ampliative' induction infers that all members of a category have a feature found in some of them [Machery]

The 27 ideas with the same theme [obtaining general truth from many instances]:

5854 Nobody fears a disease which nobody has yet caught [Aristotle]
12271 Induction is the progress from particulars to universals [Aristotle]
5714 Even simple facts are hard to believe at first hearing [Lucretius]
17027 Science deduces propositions from phenomena, and generalises them by induction [Newton]
7446 The idea of inductive evidence, around 1660, made Hume's problem possible [Hume, by Hacking]
16845 The whole theory of induction rests on causes [Mill]
16843 Mill's methods (Difference,Agreement,Residues,Concomitance,Hypothesis) don't nail induction [Mill, by Lipton]
8624 Induction is merely psychological, with a principle that it can actually establish laws [Frege]
8626 In science one observation can create high probability, while a thousand might prove nothing [Frege]
22200 If you eliminate the impossible, the truth will remain, even if it is weird [Conan Doyle]
16941 Induction relies on similar effects following from each cause [Quine]
16940 Induction is just more of the same: animal expectations [Quine]
6955 Enumerative induction is inference to the best explanation [Harman]
7369 Brains are essentially anticipation machines [Dennett]
16804 Induction is repetition, instances, deduction, probability or causation [Lipton]
9163 If we only use induction to assess induction, it is empirically indefeasible, and hence a priori [Field,H]
6352 Enumerative induction gives a universal judgement, while statistical induction gives a proportion [Pollock/Cruz]
15708 Inductive success is rewarded with more induction [Gelman]
16254 Induction leaps into the unknown, but usually lands safely [Maudlin]
4584 The problem of induction is how to justify our belief in the uniformity of nature [Baggini /Fosl]
18690 Induction is said to just compare properties of categories, but the type of property also matters [Murphy]
14953 Induction is reasoning from the observed to the unobserved [Ladyman/Ross]
22176 Induction is inferences from examined to unexamined instances of a given kind [Okasha]
18609 Psychologists use 'induction' as generalising a property from one category to another [Machery]
18610 'Ampliative' induction infers that all members of a category have a feature found in some of them [Machery]
14551 If causation were necessary, the past would fix the future, and induction would be simple [Mumford/Anjum]
14571 The only full uniformities in nature occur from the essences of fundamental things [Mumford/Anjum]