Instrumentalism: (Theoretical) The theory asserting that scientific laws and theories are rules of inference rather than truth claims or sets of truth claims. Source: ‘What is Good? What is Bad? The Value of All Values across Time, Place and Theories’ by John McMurtry, Philosophy and World Problems, Volume I-III, UNESCO in partnership with Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems: Oxford,… Read More

Informally fallacious argument: An argument with a false premise or methodological flaw. Circular arguments are informally defective but formally valid. Source: ‘What is Good? What is Bad? The Value of All Values across Time, Place and Theories’ by John McMurtry, Philosophy and World Problems, Volume I-III, UNESCO in partnership with Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems: Oxford, 2004-11. 

Inductive statistical explanation: Type of covering law model which assumes the argument form required is an inductively valid one. Source: ‘What is Good? What is Bad? The Value of All Values across Time, Place and Theories’ by John McMurtry, Philosophy and World Problems, Volume I-III, UNESCO in partnership with Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems: Oxford, 2004-11. 

Induction by enumeration: A method of scientific discovery of universal generalizations (e.g., All S are P) based on the enumeration of particular claims (e.g., Some observed S are P). Source: ‘What is Good? What is Bad? The Value of All Values across Time, Place and Theories’ by John McMurtry, Philosophy and World Problems, Volume I-III, UNESCO in partnership… Read More

Induction by elimination: A method of discovering true scientific hypotheses (including laws and theories) based on the elimination of false hypotheses from a set of relevant alternatives. Source: ‘What is Good? What is Bad? The Value of All Values across Time, Place and Theories’ by John McMurtry, Philosophy and World Problems, Volume I-III, UNESCO in partnership with Encyclopedia of… Read More

Hypothetico-deductive method: A method of scientific discovery based on positing hypotheses, deriving predictions, and testing the latter to obtain confirmation or disconfirmation. Source: ‘What is Good? What is Bad? The Value of All Values across Time, Place and Theories’ by John McMurtry, Philosophy and World Problems, Volume I-III, UNESCO in partnership with Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems: Oxford, 2004-11. 

Formally fallacious argument: An invalid argument. Source: ‘What is Good? What is Bad? The Value of All Values across Time, Place and Theories’ by John McMurtry, Philosophy and World Problems, Volume I-III, UNESCO in partnership with Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems: Oxford, 2004-11. 

Falsifiability theory: Proposed criterion of empirical meaningfulness for sentences, based on their falsifiability by observation sentences. Source: ‘What is Good? What is Bad? The Value of All Values across Time, Place and Theories’ by John McMurtry, Philosophy and World Problems, Volume I-III, UNESCO in partnership with Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems: Oxford, 2004-11. 

Epistemic utility: The value of scientific hypotheses (including laws and theories) insofar as they are, for example, true, consistent with other claims believed to be true and precise. Source: ‘What is Good? What is Bad? The Value of All Values across Time, Place and Theories’ by John McMurtry, Philosophy and World Problems, Volume I-III, UNESCO in partnership with Encyclopedia… Read More

Disposition terms: Terms designating entities with tendencies or propensities to behave in certain ways, e.g., magnetic, intelligent. Source: ‘What is Good? What is Bad? The Value of All Values across Time, Place and Theories’ by John McMurtry, Philosophy and World Problems, Volume I-III, UNESCO in partnership with Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems: Oxford, 2004-11.