Induction and Intuition in Scientific Thought
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Peter Brian Medawar
About this book
Why are most scientists indifferent to scientific methodology? The answer: ‘because what passes for scientific methodology is a misrepresentation of what scientists do.’ This book explores what is wrong with the traditional methodology of ‘inductive’ reasoning; the alternative scheme of reasoning can give the scientist a certain limited but useful insight into the way he thinks. The force of scientific enquiry comes from a preconception of what might be true -- which is exposed to critical analysis, to find out whether or not the imagined world corresponds with the real one. It is essentially a dialogue between imaginative insight and critical appraisal; between the possible and the actual; between what could be true and what is in fact the case.
Topics
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Frontmatter
I -
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FOREWORD
V -
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AUTHOR'S PREFACE
VII -
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CONTENTS
IX -
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I. The Problem Stated
1 -
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II. Mainly About Induction
22 -
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III. Mainly About Intuition
42 -
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Index
61