inductionism
- noun
- /ɪnˈdʌkʃənɪzəm/
- Formal
- The theory of inductionism relies heavily on empirical evidence.
Examples
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Critics of inductionism argue that observations alone are insufficient for developing comprehensive scientific theories.
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Many early natural philosophers subscribed to inductionism as the only valid approach to discovering scientific laws.
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Despite its challenges, inductionism remains influential in debates about scientific methodology.
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Many scientists support inductionism as a valid method of inquiry.
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Many early scientists embraced inductionism because it focuses on gathering evidence from observations to form theories.
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Critics of inductionism believe that relying solely on observations can lead to incomplete scientific explanations.
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In the field of philosophy, inductionism is often contrasted with deduction, emphasizing observation-based theory development.
Synonyms
5
8.4
A view that we learn mainly from experience, observation, and experiments
4
6.8
A way of thinking that uses specific facts to form a general rule
2
6.2
To form a general idea from many small facts
2
9.9
The idea that real knowledge comes only from what we can see or test
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Inductionism comes from the root induct- meaning 'to lead into' and the ending -ism meaning 'a belief or system'. Like induce or introduce, it has the idea of 'bringing in' general rules from many observations, so inductionism is the view that we form scientific laws from the facts we see.