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Inductive inference and its natural ground : an essay in naturalistic epistemology

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"A Bradford book."Hilary Kornblith presents an account of inductive inference that addresses both its metaphysical and epistemological aspects. He argues that inductive knowledge is possible by virtue of the fit between our innate psychological capacities and the causal structure of the world.Kornblith begins by developing an account of natural kinds that has its origins in John Locke's work on real and nominal essences. In Kornblith's view, a natural kind is a stable cluster of properties that are bound together in nature. The existence of such kinds serves as a natural ground of inductive inference.Kornblith then examines two features of human psychology that explain how knowledge of natural kinds is attained. First, our concepts are structured innately in a way that presupposes the existence of natural kinds. Second, our native inferential tendencies tend to provide us with accurate beliefs about the world when applied to environments that are populated by natural kinds.OCLC-licensed vendor bibliographic record.

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Detail Information

Series Title

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Call Number

100 KOR i

Publisher

Cambridge, Mass. : : MIT Press,., 1993

Collation

1 online resource (x, 123 pages)

Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

0585311234

Classification

100

Content Type

text

Media Type

computer

Carrier Type

online resource

Edition

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Subject(s)

Knowledge, Theory of.
Induction (Logic)
Naturalism.
Inference.

Specific Detail Info

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Statement of Responsibility

Hilary Kornblith.

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Source

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Validator

maya

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/3730.001.0001

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Journal Issue

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