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The problem of induction may also be formulated as the question of the validity or the truth of universal statements which are based on experience, such as the hypotheses and theoretical systems of the empirical sciences. For many people believe that the truth of these universal statements is ‘known by experience’; yet it is clear that an account of an experience-of an observation or the result of an experiment-can in the first place be only a singular statement and not a universal one. Accordingly, people who say of a universal statement that we know its truth from experience usually mean that the truth of this universal statement can somehow be reduced to the truth of singular ones, and that these singular ones are known by experience to be true; which amounts to saying that the universal statement is based on inductive inference. Thus, to ask whether there are natural laws known to be true appears to be only another way of asking whether inductive inferences are logically justified.
Yet if we want to find a way of justifying inductive inferences, we must first of all try to establish a principle of induction. A principle of induction would be a statement with the help of which we could put inductive inferences into a logically acceptable form. In the eyes of the upholders of inductive logic, a principle of induction is of supreme importance for scientific method. This principle, says Reichenbach, determines the truth of scientific theories. To eliminate it from science would mean nothing less than to deprive science of the power to decide the truth or falsity of its theories. Without it, clearly, science would no longer have the right to distinguish its theories from the fanciful and arbitrary creations of the poet’s mind.
 
Q. If you were to interview the author, what would be your follow-up question to him/her?
  • a)
    What factors are of tantamount importance to scientific discipline as the principle of induction?
  • b)
    Is the validity of individual instances enough to prove the validity of a principle that seems to explain all of them?
  • c)
    Can fanciful and arbitrary creations contribute to the field of science?
  • d)
    Would the principle o f induction have to be revised with the emergence of seemingly contradictory observations?
Correct answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer?
Verified Answer
The problem of induction may also be formulated as the question of the...
The passage mentions that a universal statement is derived from individual experiences. It goes on to deliberate on the problem of induction whose resolution would require establishing a principle of induction. Thus, it would be logically coherent to question how a change in the observations under consideration would affect the principle that binds them. This points to option 4 as being the correct answer.
Option 1 is speculative in nature and lies beyond the scope of the given passage.
Option 2 puts forth the question that the entire passage is centred on and whose answer the author aims to establish in steps. It cannot be termed a suitable follow up question.
Option 3 too, moves beyond the primary concern of the passage.
Hence, the correct answer is option 4.
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The problem of induction may also be formulated as the question of the validity or the truth of universal statements which are based on experience, such as the hypotheses and theoretical systems of the empirical sciences. For many people believe that the truth of these universal statements is known by experience; yet it is clear that an account of an experience-of an observation or the result of an experiment-can in the first place be only a singular statement and not a universal one. Accordingly, people who say of a universal statement that we know its truth from experience usually mean that the truth of this universal statement can somehow be reduced to the truth of singular ones, and that these singular ones are known by experience to be true; which amounts to saying that the universal statement is based on inductive inference. Thus, to ask whether there are natural laws known to be true appears to be only another way of asking whether inductive inferences are logically justified.Yet if we want to find a way of justifying inductive inferences, we must first of all try to establish a principle of induction. A principle of induction would be a statement with the help of which we could put inductive inferences into a logically acceptable form. In the eyes of the upholders of inductive logic, a principle of induction is of supreme importance for scientific method. This principle, says Reichenbach, determines the truth of scientific theories. To eliminate it from science would mean nothing less than to deprive science of the power todecide the truth or falsity of its theories. Without it, clearly, science would no longer have the right to distinguish its theories from the fanciful and arbitrary creations of the poets mind.Q.Which of the following articulates the primary concern of the given passage?

Group QuestionThe passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.The problem of induction may also be formulated as the question of the validity or the truth of universal statements which are based on experience, such as the hypotheses and theoretical systems of the empirical sciences. For many people believe that the truth of these universal statements is known by experience; yet it is clear that an account of an experience-of an observation or the result of an experiment-can in the first place be only a singular statement and not a universal one. Accordingly, people who say of a universal statement that we know its truth from experience usually mean that the truth of this universal statement can somehow be reduced to the truth of singular ones, and that these singular ones are known by experience to be true; which amounts to saying that the universal statement is based on inductive inference. Thus, to ask whether there are natural laws known to be true appears to be only another way of asking whether inductive inferences are logically justified.Yet if we want to find a way of justifying inductive inferences, we must first of all try to establish a principle of induction. A principle of induction would be a statement with the help of which we could put inductive inferences into a logically acceptable form. In the eyes of the upholders of inductive logic, a principle of induction is of supreme importance for scientific method. This principle, says Reichenbach, determines the truth of scientific theories. To eliminate it from science would mean nothing less than to deprive science of the power todecide the truth or falsity of its theories. Without it, clearly, science would no longer have the right to distinguish its theories from the fanciful and arbitrary creations of the poets mind.Q.According to the passage, the problem of induction is least likely to stem from which of the following?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow:There are two parties to every observation---the observed and the observerWhat we see depends not only on the object looked at, but on our own circumstances---position, motion, or more personal idiosyncrasies. Sometimes by instinctive habit, sometimes by design, we attempt to eliminate our own share in the observation, and so form a general picture of the world outside us, which shall be common to all observers. A small speck on the horizon of the sea is interpreted as a giant steamer. From the window of our railway carriage we see a cow glide past at fifty miles an hour, and remark that the creature is enjoying a rest. We see the starry heavens revolve round the earth, but decide that it is really the earth that is revolving, and so picture the state of the universe in a way which would be acceptable to an astronomer on any other planet.The first step in throwing our knowledge into a common stock must be the elimination of the various individual standpoints and the reduction to some specified standard observer. The picture of the world so obtained is none the less relative. We have not eliminated the observer's share; we have only fixed it definitely.To obtain a conception of the world from the point of view of no one in particular is a much more difficult task. The position of the observer can be eliminated; we are able to grasp the conception of a chair as an object in nature---looked at all round, and not from any particular angle or distance. We can think of it without mentally assigning ourselves some position with respect to it. This is a remarkable faculty, which has evidently been greatly assisted by the perception of solid relief with our two eyes. But the motion of the observer is not eliminated so simply. We had thought that it was accomplished; but the discovery that observers with different motions use different space- and time-reckoning shows that the matter is more complicated than was supposed. It may well require a complete change in our apparatus of description, because all the familiar terms of physics refer primarily to the relations of the world to an observer in some specified circumstances.Whether we are able to go still further and obtain a knowledge of the world, which not merely does not particularise the observer, but does not postulate an observer at all; whether if such knowledge could be obtained, it would convey any intelligible meaning; and whether it could be of any conceivable interest to anybody if it could be understood---these questions need not detain us now. The answers are not necessarily negative, but they lie outside the normal scope of physics.The circumstances of an observer which affect his observations are his position, motion and gauge of magnitude. More personal idiosyncracies disappear if, instead of relying on his crude senses, he employs scientific measuring apparatus. But scientific apparatus has position, motion and size, so that these are still involved in the results of any observation. There is no essential distinction between scientific measures and the measures of the senses. In either case our acquaintance with the external world comes to us through material channels; the observer's body can be regarded as part of his laboratory equipment, and, so far as we know, it obeys the same laws. We therefore group together perceptions and scientific measures, and in speaking of “a particular observer” we include all his measuring appliances.Position, motion, magnitude-scale---these factors have a profound influence on the aspect of the world to us. Can we form a picture of the world which shall be a synthesis of what is seen by observers in all sorts of positions, having all sorts of velocities, and all sorts of sizes?If, in one line, one has to identify the central objective of the author of the passage, it would be

Directions: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow:There are two parties to every observation---the observed and the observerWhat we see depends not only on the object looked at, but on our own circumstances---position, motion, or more personal idiosyncrasies. Sometimes by instinctive habit, sometimes by design, we attempt to eliminate our own share in the observation, and so form a general picture of the world outside us, which shall be common to all observers. A small speck on the horizon of the sea is interpreted as a giant steamer. From the window of our railway carriage we see a cow glide past at fifty miles an hour, and remark that the creature is enjoying a rest. We see the starry heavens revolve round the earth, but decide that it is really the earth that is revolving, and so picture the state of the universe in a way which would be acceptable to an astronomer on any other planet.The first step in throwing our knowledge into a common stock must be the elimination of the various individual standpoints and the reduction to some specified standard observer. The picture of the world so obtained is none the less relative. We have not eliminated the observer's share; we have only fixed it definitely.To obtain a conception of the world from the point of view of no one in particular is a much more difficult task. The position of the observer can be eliminated; we are able to grasp the conception of a chair as an object in nature---looked at all round, and not from any particular angle or distance. We can think of it without mentally assigning ourselves some position with respect to it. This is a remarkable faculty, which has evidently been greatly assisted by the perception of solid relief with our two eyes. But the motion of the observer is not eliminated so simply. We had thought that it was accomplished; but the discovery that observers with different motions use different space- and time-reckoning shows that the matter is more complicated than was supposed. It may well require a complete change in our apparatus of description, because all the familiar terms of physics refer primarily to the relations of the world to an observer in some specified circumstances.Whether we are able to go still further and obtain a knowledge of the world, which not merely does not particularise the observer, but does not postulate an observer at all; whether if such knowledge could be obtained, it would convey any intelligible meaning; and whether it could be of any conceivable interest to anybody if it could be understood---these questions need not detain us now. The answers are not necessarily negative, but they lie outside the normal scope of physics.The circumstances of an observer which affect his observations are his position, motion and gauge of magnitude. More personal idiosyncracies disappear if, instead of relying on his crude senses, he employs scientific measuring apparatus. But scientific apparatus has position, motion and size, so that these are still involved in the results of any observation. There is no essential distinction between scientific measures and the measures of the senses. In either case our acquaintance with the external world comes to us through material channels; the observer's body can be regarded as part of his laboratory equipment, and, so far as we know, it obeys the same laws. We therefore group together perceptions and scientific measures, and in speaking of “a particular observer” we include all his measuring appliances.Position, motion, magnitude-scale---these factors have a profound influence on the aspect of the world to us. Can we form a picture of the world which shall be a synthesis of what is seen by observers in all sorts of positions, having all sorts of velocities, and all sorts of sizes?As per the passage, the author believes that

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The problem of induction may also be formulated as the question of the validity or the truth of universal statements which are based on experience, such as the hypotheses and theoretical systems of the empirical sciences. For many people believe that the truth of these universal statements is ‘known by experience’; yet it is clear that an account of an experience-of an observation or the result of an experiment-can in the first place be only a singular statement and not a universal one. Accordingly, people who say of a universal statement that we know its truth from experience usually mean that the truth of this universal statement can somehow be reduced to the truth of singular ones, and that these singular ones are known by experience to be true; which amounts to saying that the universal statement is based on inductive inference. Thus, to ask whether there are natural laws known to be true appears to be only another way of asking whether inductive inferences are logically justified.Yet if we want to find a way of justifying inductive inferences, we must first of all try to establish a principle of induction. A principle of induction would be a statement with the help of which we could put inductive inferences into a logically acceptable form. In the eyes of the upholders of inductive logic, a principle of induction is of supreme importance for scientific method. This principle, says Reichenbach, determines the truth of scientific theories. To eliminate it from science would mean nothing less than to deprive science of the power todecide the truth or falsity of its theories. Without it, clearly, science would no longer have the right to distinguish its theories from the fanciful and arbitrary creations of the poet’s mind.Q.If you were to interview the author, what would be your follow-up question to him/her?a)What factors are of tantamount importance to scientific discipline as the principle of induction?b)Is the validity of individual instances enough to prove the validity of a principle that seems to explain all of them?c)Can fanciful and arbitrary creations contribute to the field of science?d)Would the principle o f induction have to be revised with the emergence of seemingly contradictory observations?Correct answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer?
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The problem of induction may also be formulated as the question of the validity or the truth of universal statements which are based on experience, such as the hypotheses and theoretical systems of the empirical sciences. For many people believe that the truth of these universal statements is ‘known by experience’; yet it is clear that an account of an experience-of an observation or the result of an experiment-can in the first place be only a singular statement and not a universal one. Accordingly, people who say of a universal statement that we know its truth from experience usually mean that the truth of this universal statement can somehow be reduced to the truth of singular ones, and that these singular ones are known by experience to be true; which amounts to saying that the universal statement is based on inductive inference. Thus, to ask whether there are natural laws known to be true appears to be only another way of asking whether inductive inferences are logically justified.Yet if we want to find a way of justifying inductive inferences, we must first of all try to establish a principle of induction. A principle of induction would be a statement with the help of which we could put inductive inferences into a logically acceptable form. In the eyes of the upholders of inductive logic, a principle of induction is of supreme importance for scientific method. This principle, says Reichenbach, determines the truth of scientific theories. To eliminate it from science would mean nothing less than to deprive science of the power todecide the truth or falsity of its theories. Without it, clearly, science would no longer have the right to distinguish its theories from the fanciful and arbitrary creations of the poet’s mind.Q.If you were to interview the author, what would be your follow-up question to him/her?a)What factors are of tantamount importance to scientific discipline as the principle of induction?b)Is the validity of individual instances enough to prove the validity of a principle that seems to explain all of them?c)Can fanciful and arbitrary creations contribute to the field of science?d)Would the principle o f induction have to be revised with the emergence of seemingly contradictory observations?Correct answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer? for CAT 2024 is part of CAT preparation. The Question and answers have been prepared according to the CAT exam syllabus. Information about The problem of induction may also be formulated as the question of the validity or the truth of universal statements which are based on experience, such as the hypotheses and theoretical systems of the empirical sciences. For many people believe that the truth of these universal statements is ‘known by experience’; yet it is clear that an account of an experience-of an observation or the result of an experiment-can in the first place be only a singular statement and not a universal one. Accordingly, people who say of a universal statement that we know its truth from experience usually mean that the truth of this universal statement can somehow be reduced to the truth of singular ones, and that these singular ones are known by experience to be true; which amounts to saying that the universal statement is based on inductive inference. Thus, to ask whether there are natural laws known to be true appears to be only another way of asking whether inductive inferences are logically justified.Yet if we want to find a way of justifying inductive inferences, we must first of all try to establish a principle of induction. A principle of induction would be a statement with the help of which we could put inductive inferences into a logically acceptable form. In the eyes of the upholders of inductive logic, a principle of induction is of supreme importance for scientific method. This principle, says Reichenbach, determines the truth of scientific theories. To eliminate it from science would mean nothing less than to deprive science of the power todecide the truth or falsity of its theories. Without it, clearly, science would no longer have the right to distinguish its theories from the fanciful and arbitrary creations of the poet’s mind.Q.If you were to interview the author, what would be your follow-up question to him/her?a)What factors are of tantamount importance to scientific discipline as the principle of induction?b)Is the validity of individual instances enough to prove the validity of a principle that seems to explain all of them?c)Can fanciful and arbitrary creations contribute to the field of science?d)Would the principle o f induction have to be revised with the emergence of seemingly contradictory observations?Correct answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer? covers all topics & solutions for CAT 2024 Exam. Find important definitions, questions, meanings, examples, exercises and tests below for The problem of induction may also be formulated as the question of the validity or the truth of universal statements which are based on experience, such as the hypotheses and theoretical systems of the empirical sciences. For many people believe that the truth of these universal statements is ‘known by experience’; yet it is clear that an account of an experience-of an observation or the result of an experiment-can in the first place be only a singular statement and not a universal one. Accordingly, people who say of a universal statement that we know its truth from experience usually mean that the truth of this universal statement can somehow be reduced to the truth of singular ones, and that these singular ones are known by experience to be true; which amounts to saying that the universal statement is based on inductive inference. Thus, to ask whether there are natural laws known to be true appears to be only another way of asking whether inductive inferences are logically justified.Yet if we want to find a way of justifying inductive inferences, we must first of all try to establish a principle of induction. A principle of induction would be a statement with the help of which we could put inductive inferences into a logically acceptable form. In the eyes of the upholders of inductive logic, a principle of induction is of supreme importance for scientific method. This principle, says Reichenbach, determines the truth of scientific theories. To eliminate it from science would mean nothing less than to deprive science of the power todecide the truth or falsity of its theories. Without it, clearly, science would no longer have the right to distinguish its theories from the fanciful and arbitrary creations of the poet’s mind.Q.If you were to interview the author, what would be your follow-up question to him/her?a)What factors are of tantamount importance to scientific discipline as the principle of induction?b)Is the validity of individual instances enough to prove the validity of a principle that seems to explain all of them?c)Can fanciful and arbitrary creations contribute to the field of science?d)Would the principle o f induction have to be revised with the emergence of seemingly contradictory observations?Correct answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer?.
Solutions for The problem of induction may also be formulated as the question of the validity or the truth of universal statements which are based on experience, such as the hypotheses and theoretical systems of the empirical sciences. For many people believe that the truth of these universal statements is ‘known by experience’; yet it is clear that an account of an experience-of an observation or the result of an experiment-can in the first place be only a singular statement and not a universal one. Accordingly, people who say of a universal statement that we know its truth from experience usually mean that the truth of this universal statement can somehow be reduced to the truth of singular ones, and that these singular ones are known by experience to be true; which amounts to saying that the universal statement is based on inductive inference. Thus, to ask whether there are natural laws known to be true appears to be only another way of asking whether inductive inferences are logically justified.Yet if we want to find a way of justifying inductive inferences, we must first of all try to establish a principle of induction. A principle of induction would be a statement with the help of which we could put inductive inferences into a logically acceptable form. In the eyes of the upholders of inductive logic, a principle of induction is of supreme importance for scientific method. This principle, says Reichenbach, determines the truth of scientific theories. To eliminate it from science would mean nothing less than to deprive science of the power todecide the truth or falsity of its theories. Without it, clearly, science would no longer have the right to distinguish its theories from the fanciful and arbitrary creations of the poet’s mind.Q.If you were to interview the author, what would be your follow-up question to him/her?a)What factors are of tantamount importance to scientific discipline as the principle of induction?b)Is the validity of individual instances enough to prove the validity of a principle that seems to explain all of them?c)Can fanciful and arbitrary creations contribute to the field of science?d)Would the principle o f induction have to be revised with the emergence of seemingly contradictory observations?Correct answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer? in English & in Hindi are available as part of our courses for CAT. Download more important topics, notes, lectures and mock test series for CAT Exam by signing up for free.
Here you can find the meaning of The problem of induction may also be formulated as the question of the validity or the truth of universal statements which are based on experience, such as the hypotheses and theoretical systems of the empirical sciences. For many people believe that the truth of these universal statements is ‘known by experience’; yet it is clear that an account of an experience-of an observation or the result of an experiment-can in the first place be only a singular statement and not a universal one. Accordingly, people who say of a universal statement that we know its truth from experience usually mean that the truth of this universal statement can somehow be reduced to the truth of singular ones, and that these singular ones are known by experience to be true; which amounts to saying that the universal statement is based on inductive inference. Thus, to ask whether there are natural laws known to be true appears to be only another way of asking whether inductive inferences are logically justified.Yet if we want to find a way of justifying inductive inferences, we must first of all try to establish a principle of induction. A principle of induction would be a statement with the help of which we could put inductive inferences into a logically acceptable form. In the eyes of the upholders of inductive logic, a principle of induction is of supreme importance for scientific method. This principle, says Reichenbach, determines the truth of scientific theories. To eliminate it from science would mean nothing less than to deprive science of the power todecide the truth or falsity of its theories. Without it, clearly, science would no longer have the right to distinguish its theories from the fanciful and arbitrary creations of the poet’s mind.Q.If you were to interview the author, what would be your follow-up question to him/her?a)What factors are of tantamount importance to scientific discipline as the principle of induction?b)Is the validity of individual instances enough to prove the validity of a principle that seems to explain all of them?c)Can fanciful and arbitrary creations contribute to the field of science?d)Would the principle o f induction have to be revised with the emergence of seemingly contradictory observations?Correct answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer? defined & explained in the simplest way possible. Besides giving the explanation of The problem of induction may also be formulated as the question of the validity or the truth of universal statements which are based on experience, such as the hypotheses and theoretical systems of the empirical sciences. For many people believe that the truth of these universal statements is ‘known by experience’; yet it is clear that an account of an experience-of an observation or the result of an experiment-can in the first place be only a singular statement and not a universal one. Accordingly, people who say of a universal statement that we know its truth from experience usually mean that the truth of this universal statement can somehow be reduced to the truth of singular ones, and that these singular ones are known by experience to be true; which amounts to saying that the universal statement is based on inductive inference. Thus, to ask whether there are natural laws known to be true appears to be only another way of asking whether inductive inferences are logically justified.Yet if we want to find a way of justifying inductive inferences, we must first of all try to establish a principle of induction. A principle of induction would be a statement with the help of which we could put inductive inferences into a logically acceptable form. In the eyes of the upholders of inductive logic, a principle of induction is of supreme importance for scientific method. This principle, says Reichenbach, determines the truth of scientific theories. To eliminate it from science would mean nothing less than to deprive science of the power todecide the truth or falsity of its theories. Without it, clearly, science would no longer have the right to distinguish its theories from the fanciful and arbitrary creations of the poet’s mind.Q.If you were to interview the author, what would be your follow-up question to him/her?a)What factors are of tantamount importance to scientific discipline as the principle of induction?b)Is the validity of individual instances enough to prove the validity of a principle that seems to explain all of them?c)Can fanciful and arbitrary creations contribute to the field of science?d)Would the principle o f induction have to be revised with the emergence of seemingly contradictory observations?Correct answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer?, a detailed solution for The problem of induction may also be formulated as the question of the validity or the truth of universal statements which are based on experience, such as the hypotheses and theoretical systems of the empirical sciences. For many people believe that the truth of these universal statements is ‘known by experience’; yet it is clear that an account of an experience-of an observation or the result of an experiment-can in the first place be only a singular statement and not a universal one. Accordingly, people who say of a universal statement that we know its truth from experience usually mean that the truth of this universal statement can somehow be reduced to the truth of singular ones, and that these singular ones are known by experience to be true; which amounts to saying that the universal statement is based on inductive inference. Thus, to ask whether there are natural laws known to be true appears to be only another way of asking whether inductive inferences are logically justified.Yet if we want to find a way of justifying inductive inferences, we must first of all try to establish a principle of induction. A principle of induction would be a statement with the help of which we could put inductive inferences into a logically acceptable form. In the eyes of the upholders of inductive logic, a principle of induction is of supreme importance for scientific method. This principle, says Reichenbach, determines the truth of scientific theories. To eliminate it from science would mean nothing less than to deprive science of the power todecide the truth or falsity of its theories. Without it, clearly, science would no longer have the right to distinguish its theories from the fanciful and arbitrary creations of the poet’s mind.Q.If you were to interview the author, what would be your follow-up question to him/her?a)What factors are of tantamount importance to scientific discipline as the principle of induction?b)Is the validity of individual instances enough to prove the validity of a principle that seems to explain all of them?c)Can fanciful and arbitrary creations contribute to the field of science?d)Would the principle o f induction have to be revised with the emergence of seemingly contradictory observations?Correct answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer? has been provided alongside types of The problem of induction may also be formulated as the question of the validity or the truth of universal statements which are based on experience, such as the hypotheses and theoretical systems of the empirical sciences. For many people believe that the truth of these universal statements is ‘known by experience’; yet it is clear that an account of an experience-of an observation or the result of an experiment-can in the first place be only a singular statement and not a universal one. Accordingly, people who say of a universal statement that we know its truth from experience usually mean that the truth of this universal statement can somehow be reduced to the truth of singular ones, and that these singular ones are known by experience to be true; which amounts to saying that the universal statement is based on inductive inference. Thus, to ask whether there are natural laws known to be true appears to be only another way of asking whether inductive inferences are logically justified.Yet if we want to find a way of justifying inductive inferences, we must first of all try to establish a principle of induction. A principle of induction would be a statement with the help of which we could put inductive inferences into a logically acceptable form. In the eyes of the upholders of inductive logic, a principle of induction is of supreme importance for scientific method. This principle, says Reichenbach, determines the truth of scientific theories. To eliminate it from science would mean nothing less than to deprive science of the power todecide the truth or falsity of its theories. Without it, clearly, science would no longer have the right to distinguish its theories from the fanciful and arbitrary creations of the poet’s mind.Q.If you were to interview the author, what would be your follow-up question to him/her?a)What factors are of tantamount importance to scientific discipline as the principle of induction?b)Is the validity of individual instances enough to prove the validity of a principle that seems to explain all of them?c)Can fanciful and arbitrary creations contribute to the field of science?d)Would the principle o f induction have to be revised with the emergence of seemingly contradictory observations?Correct answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer? theory, EduRev gives you an ample number of questions to practice The problem of induction may also be formulated as the question of the validity or the truth of universal statements which are based on experience, such as the hypotheses and theoretical systems of the empirical sciences. For many people believe that the truth of these universal statements is ‘known by experience’; yet it is clear that an account of an experience-of an observation or the result of an experiment-can in the first place be only a singular statement and not a universal one. Accordingly, people who say of a universal statement that we know its truth from experience usually mean that the truth of this universal statement can somehow be reduced to the truth of singular ones, and that these singular ones are known by experience to be true; which amounts to saying that the universal statement is based on inductive inference. Thus, to ask whether there are natural laws known to be true appears to be only another way of asking whether inductive inferences are logically justified.Yet if we want to find a way of justifying inductive inferences, we must first of all try to establish a principle of induction. A principle of induction would be a statement with the help of which we could put inductive inferences into a logically acceptable form. In the eyes of the upholders of inductive logic, a principle of induction is of supreme importance for scientific method. This principle, says Reichenbach, determines the truth of scientific theories. To eliminate it from science would mean nothing less than to deprive science of the power todecide the truth or falsity of its theories. Without it, clearly, science would no longer have the right to distinguish its theories from the fanciful and arbitrary creations of the poet’s mind.Q.If you were to interview the author, what would be your follow-up question to him/her?a)What factors are of tantamount importance to scientific discipline as the principle of induction?b)Is the validity of individual instances enough to prove the validity of a principle that seems to explain all of them?c)Can fanciful and arbitrary creations contribute to the field of science?d)Would the principle o f induction have to be revised with the emergence of seemingly contradictory observations?Correct answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer? tests, examples and also practice CAT tests.
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