Knowra Problem of induction Problem of induction The problem of induction is the challenge of justifying inferences from observed cases to unobserved cases or future events. Past regularities do not logically guarantee that those patterns will continue.
Inductive reasoning : Reasoning that supports generalizations or predictions from particular observations. The problem concerns whether this kind of reasoning can be justified.
Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding : David Hume’s 1748 philosophical work examining human understanding, causation, and belief. Its section on induction presents the argument in its best-known form.
Karl Popper : A philosopher of science who argued that scientific theories are tested by attempted falsification, not verified by induction. Popper sought to explain science without treating repeated confirmation as proof.
Scientific method : A collection of practices for developing and testing explanations through observation and experiment. Science relies on extending evidence beyond the cases already observed.
Deductive reasoning : Reasoning in which a conclusion follows necessarily from premises if the argument is valid. Deduction can preserve certainty; induction cannot guarantee its conclusions from its premises.
A Treatise of Human Nature : David Hume’s 1739–1740 work on human nature, knowledge, passions, and morality. Hume developed an earlier account of inference from experience in this work.
Bayesian inference : A method of updating probabilities by combining prior probabilities with evidence. Bayesianism formalizes learning from evidence, while leaving open why priors or future stability are warranted.
Falsifiability : The property of a claim that makes it possible for evidence to show it false. Falsification shifts emphasis from proving universal laws to exposing them to counterevidence.
Uniformity of nature : The assumption that nature's patterns remain sufficiently stable across times and places. Inductive predictions depend on this assumption, which past observations cannot deductively establish.
Aristotle : An ancient Greek philosopher whose works shaped logic, biology, metaphysics, and ethics. His accounts of induction and demonstration provide an ancient background to later debates.
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