초록 열기/닫기 버튼
The debates over the validity of inductive reasoning don’t seem to be settled in the near future, if not for ever. All efforts to find a solution have so far met with little success. Hume’s scathing attack on the unjustifability of inductive reasoning is an embarrassing shock to the world of science, because science is built on induction. This also unseats the popular image of science that sees science as something qualitatively different from, superior to and ideal for any knowledge enterprise. Many proposals have been made in order to save the rational face of science, either by providing some sort of rational basis for inductive reasoning or by devising alternative scientific methods. But unfortunately all such attempts have been proved inadequate. The necessary reliance on inductive reasoning, which unfortunately lacks the deductive certainty, which is usually associated with science, seems to teach some basic lessons, not only for science, but also for human life. In this short essay I intend to discuss: i) The venerable tradition of inductive reasoning, ⅱ) The inadequacy of the various attempts to solve or dissolve the problem of inductive reasoning, ⅲ) Its inevitability though it is unjustified, and ⅳ) Its implications for science and life.
