Chapter 6: Induction Flashcards
1
Q
inductive thinking
A
- observations lead to hypothesis
- specific to general
- prediction based on specific information that turns into general theory/hypothesis
2
Q
induction
A
- using what you know to predict what you will probably observe given some set of features or stimuli
3
Q
David Hume
A
- famous for criticizing idea of induction
4
Q
Hume’s negative thesis
A
- feared empiricism
- concerned about relying just on experience
- just because induction seemed to explain things in the past does not mean we can expect it to work in the future
- cannot use induction to explain induction
5
Q
Hume’s positive thesis
A
- we are hardwired for induction b/c it is necessary for survival
6
Q
blank predicate
A
- don;t need to know what brain makeup is like for girls, but you know generally from category
- you don’t want ppl to retrieve fact from memory, needs to be something new & use category information vs memory
7
Q
Nelson Goodman
A
- demonstrated problem of induction
1. you see many GREEN emeralds = “all emeralds are GREEN” = formed induction about emeralds
2. GRUE = all emeralds are seen & GREEn & all NOT seen as BLUE = emeralds are GRUE - both of these are true, both make opposite predictions about next emerald you examine
- if you see green = next one green / if you see blue = next one blue
8
Q
Goodman suggests entrenchment
A
- term must have some past history of use
- GREEN is something we have used in the past to describe things, GRUE is not used
- it is not that these things are impossible, it is just that we have never considered them
- we can only make reliable inductions from entrenched terms & coherent categories
9
Q
Quine’s natural kinds
A
- GREEN emeralds for a ‘kind’ via similarity, GRUE emeralds do NOT
- green is the behavioural equivalence class
- objects for a kind only if they have properties that can be projected to all the members
10
Q
similarity coverage model
A
- induction is guided by the similarity of the premise category to the conclusion category
- ex: a robin & sparrow are more similar than a robin & ostrich
- the degree of coverage that the premise exemplar has over the category that included all the statements
- ex: a robin covers more of the bird category than penguins
11
Q
category coherence
A
- inductions can be made from concepts & categories on the basis of similarity between premise & conclusion
- coherence of a category is related to how well the entities in the category seem to go together
12
Q
causal inferences example
A
1:
- cats have parasite X
- field mice have parasite X
- all mammals have parasite X
2:
- cats have parasite X
- tigers have parasite X
- all mammals have parasite X
results:
- ppl prefer 2nd argument
- cats & tigers are same animal
- could be a causal link between mouse & cat (hunting) but this is unique relationship
13
Q
similarity
A
- arguments are strong to the extent that categories in the premises are similar
EXAMPLE - robins have sesamoid bones therefore sparrows have sesamoid bones
- ostriches have sesamoid bones therefore sparrows have sesamoid bones
RESULTS - robins & sparrow are more similar
14
Q
typicality
A
EXAMPLE
- robins have sesamoid bones = all birds have sesamoid bones
- penguins have sesamoid bones = all birds have sesamoid bones
RESULTS
- robins b/c they are more typical
15
Q
diversity
A
- the less similar 2 premises are to each other, the stronger the argument will be
EXAMPLE - hippos & hamsters love onions = all mammals love onions
- hippos & rhinos love onions = all mammals love onions
RESULTS - hippos & hamsters
- they are more diverse which means greater coverage
