Combining Texts

Ideas for 'Women of Trachis', 'Four Decades of Scientific Explanation' and 'Consciousness Explained'

unexpand these ideas     |    start again     |     choose another area for these texts

display all the ideas for this combination of texts


2 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 / 4. Reason in Induction
Good induction needs 'total evidence' - the absence at the time of any undermining evidence [Salmon]
     Full Idea: Inductive logicians have a 'requirement of total evidence': induction is strong if 1) it has true premises, 2) it has correct inductive form, and 3) no additional evidence that would change the degree of support is available at the time.
     From: Wesley Salmon (Four Decades of Scientific Explanation [1989], 2.4.2)
     A reaction: The evidence might be very close at hand, but not quite 'available' to the person doing the induction.