Practice question · Multiple choice
"All swans observed so far have been white, so all swans are white" and "All swans are white, so the next swan will be white" use the same facts. Why can the second be certain while the first never is?
Hints
- Ask, for each argument, whether the conclusion says anything the premises did not already contain.
- One argument is safe because it is unambitious. Where is the risk in the other?
Show the answer
C. Because deduction only unpacks the premise and induction reaches beyond.
Why
Deduction's certainty is bought by never venturing past the premise; induction ventures, and no number of white swans makes a black one impossible. The moral is not to abandon induction, every generalisation from data is inductive, but to hold it as a conjecture and put it at risk, since deduction can certify a falsehood the moment a counterexample turns up.
Practise The Scientific Method
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