TOPIC INFO (CUET PG)
TOPIC INFO – CUET PG (Philosophy)
SUB-TOPIC INFO – Philosophy (Section II: Epistemology)
CONTENT TYPE – Short Notes
What’s Inside the Chapter? (After Subscription)
1. What Is Inductive Inference?
2. Hume’s Formulation of the Problem
3. The Chicken and the Farmer – Russell’s Insight
4. Historical and Cultural Contexts of the Problem
4.1. Ancient Greek Skepticism
4.2. Indian Philosophy
4.3. Medieval Islamic and Christian Thought
5. Nelson Goodman’s “New Riddle of Induction”
6. Attempts to Solve the Problem
7. Karl Popper: No Need for Induction
8. John Maynard Keynes and Bertrand Russell: Probability.
9. Statistical Defenses of Induction
10. Metaphysical Approaches
11. Why the Problem Matters
12. Conclusion
Note: The First Topic of Unit 1 is Free.
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Problem of Induction
(Epistemology)
CUET PG – Philosophy (Notes)
The problem of induction is one of the most enduring and profound issues in philosophy—especially in epistemology, the study of knowledge. It raises a crucial question: How can we justify claims about things we have not yet observed, based on things we have already observed? Although this seems like a challenge for scholars alone, it affects every aspect of human life—from scientific research to our simplest expectations, like whether the sun will rise tomorrow.
What Is Inductive Inference?
Inductive inference involves generalizing from past experiences to predict or explain future events. For example:
- Seeing the sun rise every day of your life allows you to expect it will rise tomorrow.
- Noticing that metal objects rust over time leads to the belief that future metal objects will also rust.
This reasoning is so natural and so embedded in our daily thinking that we almost never question it. Yet philosophers like David Hume have shown that this form of reasoning—though indispensable—cannot be logically justified without circularity.