Drawing on the epistemology of logic literature anti-exceptionalism about logic, we set out to investigate following metaphilosophical questions empirically: Is philosophy special? Are its methods (dis)continuous with science? More specifically, test hypotheses philosophical deductivism, inductivism, and abductivism. Using indicator words classify arguments by type (namely, deductive, inductive...

Abstract The problem of induction belongs to the most controversial issues in philosophy science. If is understood widely, it covers every fallible inference, that is, such its conclusion not logically entailed by premises. This paper analyses so-called reductive induction, reasoning which premises follow from conclusion, but reverse relation does hold. Two are taken into account, namely defini...

This paper argues that the field of econometrics divides into camps of sinners and preachers. Specifically, I look at two sins condemned by the preachers: the making of causal background assumptions when identifying parameters for estimation and the estimation of parameters that have no or little theoretical significance. I argue that practitioners in the natural experiments literature happily ...

The paper evaluates the Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom (DIKW) Hierarchy. This hierarchy is part of the canon of information science and management. The paper considers whether the hierarchy, also known as the ‘Knowledge Hierarchy’, is a useful and intellectually desirable construct to introduce, whether the views expressed about DIKW are true and have evidence in favour of them, and whether ...

The jewel house is a nuanced analysis of the community of gardeners, instrument makers, engineers, alchemists and mathematics teachers in Elizabethan London whose empirical practices, Harkness argues, ‘set the stage for the Scientific Revolution’ via the practice of what she terms vernacular ‘science’. Although her employment of the term ‘science’ may seem an anachronism, she demonstrates that ...

Social history, especially of bioethics, is bound to be problematic unless it is predicated upon a clear analysis of the substantive ethical issues. At issue in the 1960s was whether research standards should be subjective guidelines, enforced by the researcher's conscience, externally enforced objective rules, or intersubjective standards enforced by review committees (IRBs). In a series of pa...

one of the most interesting recent trends in the biosciences has been the development of research methods that do not adhere to familiar standards of scientific practice. the traditional aim of scientific research—most notably in physics—has been to gain a comprehensive understanding of natural phenomena and to generate hypotheses that provide simple, lawlike and broad explanations. contemporar...

BACKGROUND Since the term "evidence-based medicine" (EBM) first appeared in the scientific literature in 1991, the concept has had considerable influence in many parts of the world. Most professional societies, the public,and funding agencies have accepted EBM with remarkable enthusiasm. The concept of evidence-based practice is now applied in management, education, criminology, and social work...

I am delighted to be invited to comment on the use of P-values, but at the same time, it depresses me. Why? So much brainpower, ink, and passion have been expended on this subject for so long, yet plus ca change, plus c’ést le meme chose – the more things change, the more they stay the same. The references on this topic encompass innumerable disciplines, going back almost to the moment that P-v...

Sir—I read with great interest Sander Greenland’s article1 and wish to make a few remarks regarding its central issues. Greenland’s distinction between deductions and inductions recalls the classical separation of scientific statements into analytical and synthetical judgements. In a formal logic system, the truth of a judgement depends only on the correct use of deductive tools of that particu...