Hume’s theorem
Howson, C.
(2013).
Hume’s theorem.
Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A,
44(3), 339-346.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsa.2013.03.002
A common criticism of Hume’s famous anti-induction argument is that it is vitiated because it fails to foreclose the possibility of an authentically probabilistic justification of induction. I argue that this claim is false, and that on the contrary, the probability calculus itself, in the form of an elementary consequence that I call Hume’s Theorem, fully endorses Hume’s argument. Various objections, including the often-made claim that Hume is defeated by de Finetti’s exchangeability results, are considered and rejected.
| Item Type | Article |
|---|---|
| Copyright holders | © 2013 Elsevier B.V. |
| Departments | LSE > Academic Departments > Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.shpsa.2013.03.002 |
| Date Deposited | 17 Jul 2013 |
| URI | https://researchonline.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/51044 |
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