PHI 1101 Study Guide - Quiz Guide: Enumerative Induction, Solar Flare

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Philosophy
• Course: PHI 1101
• Professor: Andrew Brigham

Document Summary

Ibe is a method of inference from premise to conclusion by which the concept of explanation determines the strength of the inference. Ibe utilizes the notion of best explanation to strengthen the inference. For example: moriarty"s finger prints, gun, and cigar were found at the crime scene, the best explanation of (1) is that moriarty committed the crime, so, probably, moriarty committed the crime. To ask what explains the observations found in (1) above is to ask what caused the observations found in (1) above: evaluating ibe. To answer the first question, (a), we consider all viable explanations as causal explanations, as discussed. So, the initial set of explanations must be causal explanations. To answer the second question, (b), one must assess the following theories of consistency and criteria adequacy to choose the best (causal) explanation from the initial set: theories of consistency: That means that best explanations do not exhibit internal contradictions.