The material theory of induction / John D. Norton.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Norton, John D., 1960- author.

Series:

BSPS Open

BSPS Open ; v.1

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Induction (Logic).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (682 pages)

Place of Publication:

Calgary, Alberta : University of Calgary Press, [2021]

Summary:

The fundamental burden of a theory of inductive inference is to determine which are the good inductive inferences or relations of inductive support and why it is that they are so. The traditional approach is modeled on that taken in accounts of deductive inference. It seeks universally applicable schemas or rules or a single formal device, such as the probability calculus. After millennia of halting efforts, none of these approaches has been unequivocally successful and debates between approaches persist. The Material Theory of Induction identifies the source of these enduring problems in the assumption taken at the outset: that inductive inference can be accommodated by a single formal account with universal applicability. Instead, it argues that that there is no single, universally applicable formal account. Rather, each domain has an inductive logic native to it.The content of that logic and where it can be applied are determined by the facts prevailing in that domain. Paying close attention to how inductive inference is conducted in science and copiously illustrated with real-world examples, The Material Theory of Induction will initiate a new tradition in the analysis of inductive inference.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Prolog

The Material Theory of Induction Stated and Illustrated

What Powers Inductive Inference?

Replicability of Experiment

Analogy

Epistemic Virtues and Epistemic Values: A Skeptical Critique

Simplicity as a Surrogate

Simplicity in Model Selection

Inference to the Best Explanation: The General Account

Inference to the Best Explanation: Examples

Why Not Bayes

Circularity in the Scoring Rule Vindication of Probabilities

No Place to Stand: The Incompleteness of All Calculi of Inductive Inference

Infinite Lottery Machines

Uncountable Problems

Indeterministic Physical Systems

A Quantum Inductive Logic

Epilog

Index

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Other Format:

Print version: Norton, John D. The Material Theory of Induction

ISBN:

9781773852553