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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]
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12271
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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]
|