Evidence and Inductive Inference

Book chapter


Climenhaga, Nevin. (2024). Evidence and Inductive Inference. In In Lasonen-Aarnio, Maria and Littlejohn, Clayton (Ed.). The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Evidence pp. 435-449 Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315672687-39
AuthorsClimenhaga, Nevin
EditorsLasonen-Aarnio, Maria and Littlejohn, Clayton
Abstract

This chapter presents a typology of the different kinds of inductive inferences we can draw from our evidence, based on the explanatory relationship between evidence and conclusion. Drawing on the literature on graphical models of explanation, I divide inductive inferences into (a) downwards inferences, which proceed from cause to effect; (b) upwards inferences, which proceed from effect to cause; and (c) sideways inferences, which proceed first from effect to cause and then from that cause to an additional effect. I further distinguish between direct and indirect forms of downwards and upwards inferences. I then show how we can subsume canonical forms of inductive inference mentioned in the literature, such as inference to the best explanation, enumerative induction, and analogical inference, under this typology. Along the way, I explore connections with probability and confirmation, epistemic defeat, the relation between abduction and enumerative induction, the compatibility of IBE and Bayesianism, and theories of epistemic justification.

KeywordsHumanities; evidence; conclusion; inferences; induction; logic; reasoning
Page range435-449
Year01 Jan 2024
Book titleThe Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Evidence
PublisherRoutledge
Place of publicationUnited States
Edition1
ISBN978-1-13-894317-9
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315672687-39
Web address (URL)https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315672687-39/evidence-inductive-inference-nevin-climenhaga
Open accessPublished as non-open access
Research or scholarlyResearch
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All rights reserved
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Controlled
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online19 Dec 2023
Publication process dates
Accepted2023
Deposited24 Jun 2024
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© Routledge, 2024.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

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