Foundations of Inference in Natural Science

Originally published in 1952. This book is a critical survey of the views of scientific inference that have been developed since the end of World War I. It contains some detailed exposition of ideas - notably of Keynes - that were cryptically put forward, often quoted, but nowhere explained. Part I discusses and illustrates the method of hypothesis. Part II concerns induction. Part III considers aspects of the theory of probability that seem to bear on the problem of induction and Part IV outlines the shape of this problem and its solution take if transformed by the present approach.

Auteur

J O Wisdom

Contenu

• Scientific Outlook

• Experiments and Method

• The Contrast Between Generalisation and Non-Instantial Hypothesis

• The Principle of Testability

• Induction and the Hypothetico-Deductive System

• Hypothetico-Deductive Explanation

• Two Types of Simplicity

• Determinism, Orderliness and Uncertainty

• Operationalism and the Descriptive Interpretation

• The Traditional Approach to Induction

• Criteria for Causal Determination and Functional Relationship

• The Nature and Strength of Generalisation, Analogy and Induction

• Induction by Repetition

• The Law of Uniformity of Nature

• Requirements for an Inductive Principle

• Four Principles of Induction

• Induction as a Successful Habit

• The Vertical Causal Nexus

• Impasse in the Inductive Approach

• Some Theorems in Probability

• The Meaning of Probability

• The Probability of a Hypothesis

Appendix: The Probability Calculus and Keynes's Principle

• Probability and Induction

• Transformation of the Problem of Induction

List of Works Directly Cited

Index