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Single Idea 6775

[filed under theme 14. Science / C. Induction / 2. Aims of Induction ]

Full Idea

Induction can be seen as inference to the best explanation, where the explanation is a law.

Gist of Idea

Induction is inference to the best explanation, where the explanation is a law

Source

Alexander Bird (Philosophy of Science [1998], Ch.3)

Book Ref

Bird,Alexander: 'Philosophy of Science' [UCL Press 2000], p.119

A Reaction

I like this. I increasingly think of explanation as central to rational thought, as the key route for empiricists to go beyond their immediate and verifiable experience. Laws can be probabilistic.

The 14 ideas with the same theme [possible targets for inductive thinking]:

1683 We learn universals from many particulars [Aristotle]
16576 Science is based on induction, for general truths about fire, rhubarb and magnets [Buridan]
19387 Hypotheses come from induction, which is comparison of experiences [Leibniz]
2198 We assume similar secret powers behind similar experiences, such as the nourishment of bread [Hume]
19234 'Induction' doesn't capture Greek 'epagoge', which is singulars in a mass producing the general [Peirce]
17631 Induction is inferring premises from consequences [Russell]
2941 Induction accepts the simplest law that fits our experiences [Wittgenstein]
5190 The induction problem is to prove generalisations about the future based on the past [Ayer]
19462 Induction passes from particular facts to other particulars, or to general laws, non-deductively [Ayer]
21748 More careful inductions gradually lead to the hypothetico-deductive method [Quine]
3095 Induction is an attempt to increase the coherence of our explanations [Harman]
9661 Induction is just reasonable methods of inferring the unobserved from the observed [Lewis]
3709 Induction must go beyond the evidence, in order to explain why the evidence occurred [Bonjour]
6775 Induction is inference to the best explanation, where the explanation is a law [Bird]