A Pragmatic Theory of Induction

This paper develops a qualitative, logical, theory of induction. It begins with Hempel’s attempt to produce a “purely syntactical” theory of confirmation and the demise of this attempt as a result of Goodman’s paradox. Ideas from the informal, pragmatic, solutions to this paradox proposed by Goodman and Quine are then adopted, adapted and extended in order to produce a formal, pragmatic theory of induction. According to this theory, induction takes place in an evolving context of inference; which includes an evolving system of kinds and, typically, a background theory. The theory is illustrated by giving a formal solution of Goodman’s paradox, and a further difficulty raised by Davidson is discussed.