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The Large-Scale Structure of Inductive Inference investigates the relations of inductive support on the large scale, among the totality of facts comprising a science or science in general. These relations form a massively entangled, non-hierarchical structure which is discovered by making hypotheses provisionally that are later supported by facts drawn from the entirety of the science. What results is a benignly circular, self-supporting inductive structure in which universal rules are not employed, the classical Humean problem cannot be formulated and analogous regress arguments fail. The earlier volume, The Material Theory of Induction, proposed that individual inductive inferences are warranted not by universal rules but by facts particular to each context. This book now investigates how the totality of these inductive inferences interact in a mature science. Each fact that warrants an individual inductive inference is in turn supported inductively by other facts. Numerous case studies in the history of science support, and illustrate further, those claims. This is a novel, thoroughly researched, and sustained remedy to the enduring failures of formal approaches to inductive inference. With The Large-Scale Structure of Inductive Inference, author John D. Norton presents a novel, thoroughly researched, and sustained remedy to the enduring failures of formal approaches of inductive inference.

Greg Restall's Logic provides concise introductions to propositional and first-order predicate logic while showing how formal logic intersects with substantial philosophical issues such as vagueness, conditionals, relevance, propositional attitudes, and opaque contents. The author also examines the ideas behind modal logic, free logic, and other non-standard logics and discusses the nature of logic itself. The book covers both natural deduction and tree methods for proving validity. Each chapter includes excellent suggestions for further reading and both elementary and more advanced exercises, with solutions provided on a website. It is flexibly designed to be useable for half or full-year courses, for courses focusing exclusively on formal logic, or for a variety of approaches that would integrate topics in philosophical logic. Restall examines many of the interesting issues raised by basic logical techniques and will undoubtedly stimulate further study in the discipline. This is a logic book designed principally for philosophers but which will also be of interest to students of computer science, cognitive science, and linguistics.

In An Aristotelian Account of Induction Groarke discusses the intellectual process through which we access the \"first principles\" of human thought - the most basic concepts, the laws of logic, the universal claims of science and metaphysics, and the deepest moral truths. Following Aristotle and others, Groarke situates the first stirrings of human understanding in a creative capacity for discernment that precedes knowledge, even logic. Relying on a new historical study of philosophical theories of inductive reasoning from Aristotle to the twenty-first century, Groarke explains how Aristotle offers a viable solution to the so-called problem of induction, while offering new contributions to contemporary accounts of reasoning and argument and challenging the conventional wisdom about induction.

Published in honor of Sergio Galvan, this collection concentrates on the application of logical and mathematical methods for the study of central issues in formal philosophy. The volume is subdivided into four sections, dedicated to logic and philosophy of logic, philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of science, metaphysics and philosophy of religion. The contributions adress, from a logical point of view, some of the main topics in these areas. The first two sections include formal treatments of: truth and paradoxes; definitions by abstraction; the status of abstract objects, such as mathematical objects and universal concepts; and the structure of explicit knowledge. The last two sections include papers on classical problems in philosophy of science, such as the status of subjective probability, the notion of verisimilitude, the notion of approximation, and the theory of mind and mental causation, and specific issues in metaphysics and philosophy of religion, such as the ontology of species, actions, and intelligible worlds, and the logic of religious belonging.

Mathematics and logic have been central topics of concern since the dawn of philosophy. Since logic is the study of correct reasoning, it is a fundamental branch of epistemology and a priority in any philosophical system. Philosophers have focused on mathematics as a case study for generalphilosophical issues and for its role in overall knowledge- gathering. Today, philosophy of mathematics and logic remain central disciplines in contemporary philosophy, as evidenced by the regular appearance of articles on these topics in the best mainstream philosophical journals; in fact, the lastdecade has seen an explosion of scholarly work in these areas.This volume covers these disciplines in a comprehensive and accessible manner, giving the reader an overview of the major problems, positions, and battle lines. The 26 contributed chapters are by established experts in the field, and their articles contain both exposition and criticism as well assubstantial development of their own positions. The essays, which are substantially self-contained, serve both to introduce the reader to the subject and to engage in it at its frontiers. Certain major positions are represented by two chapters--one supportive and one critical.The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Math and Logic is a ground-breaking reference like no other in its field. It is a central resource to those wishing to learn about the philosophy of mathematics and the philosophy of logic, or some aspect thereof, and to those who actively engage in thediscipline, from advanced undergraduates to professional philosophers, mathematicians, and historians.

This book introduces readers to the topic of explanation. The insights of Plato, Aristotle, J.S. Mill and Carl Hempel are examined, and are used to argue against the view that explanation is merely a problem for the philosophy of science. Having established its importance for understanding knowledge in general, the book concludes with a bold and original explanation of explanation.

In an era of information overload, our need to learn how to critically evaluate the growing flood of information has never been greater. Critical Reflection showcases the role of reason in a world saturated by media-enhanced persuasion and complex scientific and technological jargon. Drawing from the classic philosophical texts, this engaging textbook on the art of analyzing arguments is also relevant to today's undergraduates in its use of real-life examples and exercises drawn mainly from media and politics. Malcolm Murray and Nebojsa Kujundzic cover the standard subjects in a one-semester course on critical thinking, offering ways to analyze arguments in the following areas: * language use * acceptability conditions for truth * categorical and propositional logic * induction * causal claims * probability reasoning * analogical reasoning * an in-depth analysis of informal fallacies Critical Reflection further distinguishes itself with in-depth answers to chapter exercises that are incorporated directly into the authors' detailed discussions. This is an ideal textbook to help professors foster autonomous thinking among their students.

Assembling the previously scattered works of the Preservationist School, this collection contains all of the most significant works on the basic theory of the preservationist approach to paraconsistent logic.

Sixty years after its first edition, there is an increasing consensus among scholars that the work posthumously published as Philosophical Investigations represents something that is far from a complete picture of Wittgenstein's second book project. G.H. von Wright's seminal research on the Nachlass was an important contribution in this direction, showing that the Wittgenstein papers can reveal much more than the source of specific remarks. This book specifically explores Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations from the different angles of its originary conceptions, including the mathematical texts, shedding new light on fundamental issues in twentieth century and contemporary philosophy. Leading authorities in the field focus on newly published or hitherto unpublished sources for the interpretation of Wittgenstein's later work and a Wittgenstein typescript, translated for the first time into English, is included as an appendix.

Mathematical platonism is the view that mathematical statements are true of real mathematical objects like numbers, shapes, and sets.One central problem with platonism is that numbers, shapes, sets, and the like are not perceivable by our senses.