Inference to the Best Explanation

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Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 9780415242035
Total Pages : 236 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (42 download)

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Book Synopsis Inference to the Best Explanation by : Peter Lipton

Download or read book Inference to the Best Explanation written by Peter Lipton and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2004 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inference to the Best Explanation is an unrivalled exposition of a theory of particular interest to students both of epistemology and the philosophy of science.

Best Explanations

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0198746903
Total Pages : 315 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (987 download)

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Book Synopsis Best Explanations by : Kevin McCain

Download or read book Best Explanations written by Kevin McCain and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twenty philosophers offer new essays examining the form of reasoning known as inference to the best explanation - widely used in science and in our everyday lives, yet still controversial. Best Explanations represents the state of the art when it comes to understanding, criticizing, and defending this form of reasoning.

Epistemic Justification and the Skeptical Challenge

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Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 0230596215
Total Pages : 236 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (35 download)

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Book Synopsis Epistemic Justification and the Skeptical Challenge by : H. Vahid

Download or read book Epistemic Justification and the Skeptical Challenge written by H. Vahid and published by Springer. This book was released on 2005-08-02 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the concept of epistemic justification and our understanding of the problem of skepticism. Providing critical examination of key responses to the skeptical challenge, Hamid Vahid presents a theory which is shown to work alongside the internalism/externalism issue and the thesis of semantic externalism, with a deontological conception of justification at its core.

Argument and Inference

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Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262337770
Total Pages : 283 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (623 download)

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Book Synopsis Argument and Inference by : Gregory Johnson

Download or read book Argument and Inference written by Gregory Johnson and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2017-01-06 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A thorough and practical introduction to inductive logic with a focus on arguments and the rules used for making inductive inferences. This textbook offers a thorough and practical introduction to inductive logic. The book covers a range of different types of inferences with an emphasis throughout on representing them as arguments. This allows the reader to see that, although the rules and guidelines for making each type of inference differ, the purpose is always to generate a probable conclusion. After explaining the basic features of an argument and the different standards for evaluating arguments, the book covers inferences that do not require precise probabilities or the probability calculus: the induction by confirmation, inference to the best explanation, and Mill's methods. The second half of the book presents arguments that do require the probability calculus, first explaining the rules of probability, and then the proportional syllogism, inductive generalization, and Bayes' rule. Each chapter ends with practice problems and their solutions. Appendixes offer additional material on deductive logic, odds, expected value, and (very briefly) the foundations of probability. Argument and Inference can be used in critical thinking courses. It provides these courses with a coherent theme while covering the type of reasoning that is most often used in day-to-day life and in the natural, social, and medical sciences. Argument and Inference is also suitable for inductive logic and informal logic courses, as well as philosophy of sciences courses that need an introductory text on scientific and inductive methods.

Inference, Explanation, and Other Frustrations

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Publisher : Univ of California Press
ISBN 13 : 0520309871
Total Pages : 314 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (23 download)

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Book Synopsis Inference, Explanation, and Other Frustrations by : John Earman

Download or read book Inference, Explanation, and Other Frustrations written by John Earman and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2023-07-28 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These provocative essays by leading philosophers of science exemplify and illuminate the contemporary uncertainty and excitement in the field. The papers are rich in new perspectives, and their far-reaching criticisms challenge arguments long prevalent in classic philosophical problems of induction, empiricism, and realism. By turns empirical or analytic, historical or programmatic, confessional or argumentative, the authors' arguments both describe and demonstrate the fact that philosophy of science is in a ferment more intense than at any time since the heyday of logical positivism early in the twentieth century. Contents: “Thoroughly Modern Meno,” Clark Glymour and Kevin Kelly “The Concept of Induction in the Light of the Interrogative Approach to Inquiry,” Jaakko Hintikka “Aristotelian Natures and Modern Experimental Method,” Nancy Cartwright “Genetic Inference: A Reconsideration of “David Hume's Empiricism,” Barbara D. Massey and Gerald J. Massey “Philosophy and the Exact Sciences: Logical Positivism as a Case Study,” Michael Friedman “Language and Interpretation: Philosophical Reflections and Empirical Inquiry,” Noam Chomsky “Constructivism, Realism, and Philosophical Method,” Richard Boyd “Do We Need a Hierarchical Model of Science?” Diderik Batens “Theories of Theories: A View from Cognitive Science,” Richard E. Grandy “Procedural Syntax for Theory Elements,” Joseph D. Sneed “Why Functionalism Didn't Work,” Hilary Putnam “Physicalism,” Hartry Field This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1992.

Inference to the Best Explanation

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Publisher : Psychology Press
ISBN 13 : 9780415242028
Total Pages : 240 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (42 download)

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Book Synopsis Inference to the Best Explanation by : Peter Lipton

Download or read book Inference to the Best Explanation written by Peter Lipton and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inference to the Best Explanation is an unrivalled exposition of a theory of particular interest to students both of epistemology and the philosophy of science.

Abductive Inference

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Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780521575454
Total Pages : 322 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (754 download)

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Book Synopsis Abductive Inference by : John R. Josephson

Download or read book Abductive Inference written by John R. Josephson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1996-08-28 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book analyses abduction as an information-processing phenomenon.

Material Theory of Induction

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Publisher : Bsps Open
ISBN 13 : 9781773852751
Total Pages : 544 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (527 download)

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Book Synopsis Material Theory of Induction by : John D. Norton

Download or read book Material Theory of Induction written by John D. Norton and published by Bsps Open. This book was released on 2021-12-15 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Thought

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Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 1400868998
Total Pages : 210 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (8 download)

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Book Synopsis Thought by : Gilbert H. Harman

Download or read book Thought written by Gilbert H. Harman and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2015-03-08 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thoughts and other mental states are defined by their role in a functional system. Since it is easier to determine when we have knowledge than when reasoning has occurred, Gilbert Harman attempts to answer the latter question by seeing what assumptions about reasoning would best account for when we have knowledge and when not. He describes induction as inference to the best explanation, or more precisely as a modification of beliefs that seeks to minimize change and maximize explanatory coherence. Originally published in 1973. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Inference and Consciousness

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Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351366734
Total Pages : 251 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (513 download)

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Book Synopsis Inference and Consciousness by : Timothy Chan

Download or read book Inference and Consciousness written by Timothy Chan and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-12-20 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inference has long been a central concern in epistemology, as an essential means by which we extend our knowledge and test our beliefs. Inference is also a key notion in influential psychological accounts of mental capacities, ranging from problem-solving to perception. Consciousness, on the other hand, has arguably been the defining interest of philosophy of mind over recent decades. Comparatively little attention, however, has been devoted to the significance of consciousness for the proper understanding of the nature and role of inference. It is commonly suggested that inference may be either conscious or unconscious. Yet how unified are these various supposed instances of inference? Does either enjoy explanatory priority in relation to the other? In what way, or ways, can an inference be conscious, or fail to be conscious, and how does this matter? This book brings together original essays from established scholars and emerging theorists that showcase how several current debates in epistemology, philosophy of psychology and philosophy of mind can benefit from more reflections on these and related questions about the significance of consciousness for inference.

Other Minds

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Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 9401585105
Total Pages : 167 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (15 download)

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Book Synopsis Other Minds by : Alec Hyslop

Download or read book Other Minds written by Alec Hyslop and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-03-09 with total page 167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book has been a long time in the making. Other issues have taken me away from it from time to extended time. But I kept coming back to the problem of other minds. It has remained a great issue, it is much contested still, and it is, after all, elose to us all. I like believing that the time taken has deepened my understanding of the problem and how it is to be handled. Other people, some by disagreeing vehemently, have helped greatly. I mention in particular, Brian Ellis, Robert Fox, Graeme Marshali, Tim Oakley, Ray Pinkerton and Robert Young. Robert Pargetter argued with me, and kept insisting that I write this book. John Bigelow, Michael Bradley, Keith Campbell, Frank Jackson, and William Lycan assisted by reading an earlier version and providing valued comments. Frank Jackson has been specially helpful, not just on this topic. He can be blamed for initially causing me to take the analogical inference seriously. Tbe La Trobe Philosophy Department has been a good place to do philosophy. I am grateful to Suzanne Hayster, Sandra Paul, and Betty Pritchard for struggling at various times with various recalcitrant manuscripts. Most particularly I thank Gai Larkin. She has seen the project through, with considerably more than efficiency.

Inference on the Low Level

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Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 1402028067
Total Pages : 376 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (2 download)

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Book Synopsis Inference on the Low Level by : Hannes Leitgeb

Download or read book Inference on the Low Level written by Hannes Leitgeb and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-11-02 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In contrast to the prevailing tradition in epistemology, the focus in this book is on low-level inferences, i.e., those inferences that we are usually not consciously aware of and that we share with the cat nearby which infers that the bird which she sees picking grains from the dirt, is able to fly. Presumably, such inferences are not generated by explicit logical reasoning, but logical methods can be used to describe and analyze such inferences. Part 1 gives a purely system-theoretic explication of belief and inference. Part 2 adds a reliabilist theory of justification for inference, with a qualitative notion of reliability being employed. Part 3 recalls and extends various systems of deductive and nonmonotonic logic and thereby explains the semantics of absolute and high reliability. In Part 4 it is proven that qualitative neural networks are able to draw justified deductive and nonmonotonic inferences on the basis of distributed representations. This is derived from a soundness/completeness theorem with regard to cognitive semantics of nonmonotonic reasoning. The appendix extends the theory both logically and ontologically, and relates it to A. Goldman's reliability account of justified belief.

Statistical and Inductive Inference by Minimum Message Length

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Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 9780387237954
Total Pages : 456 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (379 download)

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Book Synopsis Statistical and Inductive Inference by Minimum Message Length by : C.S. Wallace

Download or read book Statistical and Inductive Inference by Minimum Message Length written by C.S. Wallace and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2005-05-26 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Minimum Message Length (MML) Principle is an information-theoretic approach to induction, hypothesis testing, model selection, and statistical inference. MML, which provides a formal specification for the implementation of Occam's Razor, asserts that the ‘best’ explanation of observed data is the shortest. Further, an explanation is acceptable (i.e. the induction is justified) only if the explanation is shorter than the original data. This book gives a sound introduction to the Minimum Message Length Principle and its applications, provides the theoretical arguments for the adoption of the principle, and shows the development of certain approximations that assist its practical application. MML appears also to provide both a normative and a descriptive basis for inductive reasoning generally, and scientific induction in particular. The book describes this basis and aims to show its relevance to the Philosophy of Science. Statistical and Inductive Inference by Minimum Message Length will be of special interest to graduate students and researchers in Machine Learning and Data Mining, scientists and analysts in various disciplines wishing to make use of computer techniques for hypothesis discovery, statisticians and econometricians interested in the underlying theory of their discipline, and persons interested in the Philosophy of Science. The book could also be used in a graduate-level course in Machine Learning and Estimation and Model-selection, Econometrics and Data Mining. C.S. Wallace was appointed Foundation Chair of Computer Science at Monash University in 1968, at the age of 35, where he worked until his death in 2004. He received an ACM Fellowship in 1995, and was appointed Professor Emeritus in 1996. Professor Wallace made numerous significant contributions to diverse areas of Computer Science, such as Computer Architecture, Simulation and Machine Learning. His final research focused primarily on the Minimum Message Length Principle.

Statistical Inference as Severe Testing

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Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1108563309
Total Pages : 503 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (85 download)

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Book Synopsis Statistical Inference as Severe Testing by : Deborah G. Mayo

Download or read book Statistical Inference as Severe Testing written by Deborah G. Mayo and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-09-20 with total page 503 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mounting failures of replication in social and biological sciences give a new urgency to critically appraising proposed reforms. This book pulls back the cover on disagreements between experts charged with restoring integrity to science. It denies two pervasive views of the role of probability in inference: to assign degrees of belief, and to control error rates in a long run. If statistical consumers are unaware of assumptions behind rival evidence reforms, they can't scrutinize the consequences that affect them (in personalized medicine, psychology, etc.). The book sets sail with a simple tool: if little has been done to rule out flaws in inferring a claim, then it has not passed a severe test. Many methods advocated by data experts do not stand up to severe scrutiny and are in tension with successful strategies for blocking or accounting for cherry picking and selective reporting. Through a series of excursions and exhibits, the philosophy and history of inductive inference come alive. Philosophical tools are put to work to solve problems about science and pseudoscience, induction and falsification.

The Design Inference

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Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 0521623871
Total Pages : 266 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (216 download)

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Book Synopsis The Design Inference by : William A. Dembski

Download or read book The Design Inference written by William A. Dembski and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1998-09-13 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents a reliable method for detecting intelligent causes: the design inference.The design inference uncovers intelligent causes by isolating the key trademark of intelligent causes: specified events of small probability. Design inferences can be found in a range of scientific pursuits from forensic science to research into the origins of life to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. This challenging and provocative book shows how incomplete undirected causes are for science and breathes new life into classical design arguments. It will be read with particular interest by philosophers of science and religion, other philosophers concerned with epistemology and logic, probability and complexity theorists, and statisticians.

A Companion to the Philosophy of Science

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Publisher : Wiley-Blackwell
ISBN 13 : 9780631230205
Total Pages : 596 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (32 download)

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Book Synopsis A Companion to the Philosophy of Science by : W. H. Newton-Smith

Download or read book A Companion to the Philosophy of Science written by W. H. Newton-Smith and published by Wiley-Blackwell. This book was released on 2001-10-08 with total page 596 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unmatched in the quality of its world-renowned contributors, this companion serves as both a course text and a reference book across the broad spectrum of issues of concern to the philosophy of science.

The Foundations of Scientific Inference

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Publisher : University of Pittsburgh Pre
ISBN 13 : 0822971259
Total Pages : 170 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (229 download)

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Book Synopsis The Foundations of Scientific Inference by : Wesley Salmon

Download or read book The Foundations of Scientific Inference written by Wesley Salmon and published by University of Pittsburgh Pre. This book was released on 1967-09 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Not since Ernest Nagel’s 1939 monograph on the theory of probability has there been a comprehensive elementary survey of the philosophical problems of probablity and induction. This is an authoritative and up-to-date treatment of the subject, and yet it is relatively brief and nontechnical. Hume’s skeptical arguments regarding the justification of induction are taken as a point of departure, and a variety of traditional and contemporary ways of dealing with this problem are considered. The author then sets forth his own criteria of adequacy for interpretations of probability. Utilizing these criteria he analyzes contemporary theories of probability, as well as the older classical and subjective interpretations.