The Problem Of Induction And Its Metaphysical Implications

The problem of induction and its metaphysical implications. The pursuit of knowledge and the desire to understand our world in terms of what is and what it is like has been the endeavor of mankind for centuries. One of the main methods used in order understand the reality presented to us is inductive inference. While humanity has no doubt advanced by employing inductive inference, the problem of induction, recognized by David Hume (1711-1776) forces us to question if induction is a justifiable method and in turn what that means concerning the knowledge acquired by its application. The result of the problem of induction is that we cannot rely on past experience to help us understand the past, our current situation or make future†¦show more content†¦Relations of ideas are a priori and are logically true statements, they are epistemologically prior to experience and the denial of such a proposition implies a contradiction. For example, a square has four equal sides and imagini ng a square with five sides, or unequal sides leads to contradiction as the definition of a square is, ‘a shape with four equal sides’ and as a result nothing will be a square unless it has four equal sides. Conversely, matters of fact are a posteriori and therefore grounded in experience, this means that they can be denied without any contradiction as an alternate statement can be just as plausible. As an example, if the statement is made that, ‘it is raining outside’ it is no less plausible to think that it is not raining outside and so until it has been experienced one cannot say that either of these situations is more likely than the other. In the world we live in and especially in science, it is not always possible to experience every instance of a phenomena in question and that is why we look to other methods to advance our knowledge. We are only able to increase our knowledge by moving from the particular to the general, which is how the process of i nduction works. However, the question that arises is, ‘when is it justifiable to make a general claim