Generalizations
Submitted by Amuh on May 14, 2008
Category: Philosophy
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Bonjour on Induction
W. Russ Payne Ph.D.
Laurence Bonjour proposes an a-priori solution to the problem of induction in the last chapter of his In Defense of Pure Reason.[1] He argues that we have a-priori grounds for thinking that the best explanation (meaning the explanation that is most likely to be true) for the truth of the premises of an inductive argument is the truth of the generalization we inductively infer. The idea of justifying inductive inference as a case of inference to the best explanation is not entirely new. David Armstrong, for instance, argues that “induction is . . . rational “because it is a case of inference to the best explanation.”[2] What Bonjour provides is a detailed discussion of why we should take objective law-like generalizations to provide the best explanation of inductive premises. Also novel in Bonjour’s treatment is the casting...