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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
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We learn universals from many particulars
[Aristotle]
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Induction is inference to the best explanation, where the explanation is a law
[Bird]
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