The Foundations of Scientific Inference: 50th Anniversary Edition

Description

After its publication in 1967, The Foundations of Scientific Inference taught a generation of students and researchers about the problem of induction, the interpretation of probability, and confirmation theory. Fifty years later, Wesley C. Salmon's book remains one of the clearest introductions to these fundamental problems in the philosophy of science. With The Foundations of Scientific Inference, Salmon presented a coherent vision of the nature of scientific reasoning, explored the philosophical underpinnings of scientific investigation, and introduced readers to key movements in epistemology and to leading philosophers of the twentieth century—such as Karl Popper, Rudolf Carnap, and Hans Reichenbach—offering a critical assessment and developing his own distinctive views on topics that are still of central importance today. This anniversary edition of Salmon's foundational work in the philosophy of science features a detailed introduction by Christopher Hitchcock, which examines the book's origins, influences, and major themes, its impact and enduring effects, the disputes it raised, and its place in current studies, revisiting Salmon's ideas for a new audience of philosophers, historians, scientists, and students. Contents......Page 10 Introductory Essay, by Christopher Hitchcock......Page 12 Introduction......Page 42 I. The Problem with Induction......Page 46 II. Attempted Solutions......Page 52 III. Significance of the Problem......Page 95 IV. The Philosophical Problem of Probability......Page 97 V. Interpretations of Probability......Page 106 VI. Inferring Relative Frequencies......Page 137 VII. The Confirmation of Scientific Hypotheses......Page 149 Conclusion......Page 172 Notes......Page 173 Addendum......Page 183 Index......Page 186