The Inference That Makes Science

Abstract

In his Aquinas Lecture 1992 at Marquette University, Ernan McMullin discusses whether there is a pattern of inference that particularly characterizes the sciences of nature. He pursues this theme both on a historical and a systematic level. There is a continuity of concern across the ages that separate the Greek inquiry into nature from our own vastly more complex scientific enterprise. But there is also discontinuity, the abandonment of earlier ideals as unworkable. The natural sciences involve many types of inference; three of these interlock in a special way to produce "retroductive inference," the kind of complex inference that supports causal theory.

Explanation and the Nature of Scientific Knowledge

“…There are numerous additional examples of IBE employed both historically and currently in the sciences. In fact, IBE is so pervasive in the sciences that Ernan McMullin (1992) refers to it as ''the inference that makes science.'' 33 It seems clear that IBE plays a major role in the sciences (Boyd 1981(Boyd , 1984Douven 2011;Harré 1986;Lipton 2004;McMullin 1992;Psillos 1999).…”

¿qué Es La Ciencia Y Hasta Dónde Puede Llegar?

“…La teoría es capaz de predecir resultados nuevos, desconocidos o inclusive inesperados (McMullin, 2013, p. 180, Medawar, 1985. Las predicciones o explicaciones tienen un alto grado de exactitud.…”

The Nature of Scientific Knowledge

“…It is clear that IBE plays a major role in the sciences (Boyd 1981(Boyd , 1984Douven 2011;Harré 1986;McMullin 1992;. It accounts for how we gain scientific knowledge of theories.…”