Method
Inductive Reasoning
Classification
- Method family
- argumentative
- Domains
- Epistemology
Overview
Inductive reasoning generalizes from observed cases to unobserved ones, or from a sample to a wider population, in a way that makes the conclusion likely without guaranteeing it.
Purpose. The method is how experience is made to bear on claims that reach beyond it, which is why an account of its justification matters so much to empiricism. Induction is not a weaker deduction: its conclusion genuinely exceeds its premises, and that surplus is exactly what stands in need of justification.
Characteristic operations
- Assemble the cases: Collect observations, checking how varied and how numerous they are.
- Generalize beyond them: Extend the pattern to cases not yet observed.
- Assess the strength: Judge how strongly the evidence supports the conclusion, since support comes in degrees.
- Confront the justification problem: Face the question of what entitles the projection, given that past success is itself an inductive ground.
Used by traditions
Applied to questions
References
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, The Problem of Induction
- David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, §IV
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, The Problem of Induction, §1