Abstract
Abstract In this chapter, we move from the consideration of particular methods and problems to the characterization of problem solvability over entire paradigms. So while the issues treated in the preceding chapter were all located at level 3 of the taxonomy of questions presented at the end of chapter 2, the questions treated in this chapter belong to level 4. A characterization condition is a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of a reliable method, given entirely in terms of the structures of K, C, and H. In other words, a characterization theorem isolates exactly the kind of background knowledge necessary and sufficient for scientific reliability, given the interpretation of the hypotheses and the sense of success demanded. To revive Kant’s expression, such results may be thought of as transcendental deductions for reliable inductive inference, since they show what sort of knowledge is necessary if reliable inductive inference is to be possible.
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