Linguistic Variance in Inductive Logic

Abstract

The technical approach to hypothetico-inductive inference which was developed in the preceding chapters of this book is directly and indirectly relevant to many important problems in the philosophy of science. Some of these problems have already been mentioned above. For example, we showed how theoretical concepts can be desirable and even logically indispensable for the purposes of scientific theorizing. In Chapter 9, we indicated how this can be taken to support scientific realism against methodological instrumentalism - and, of course, against those ‘descriptive’ or ‘positivist’ views which do not allow of open theoretical concepts assuming any role in science.