The Logic of Scientific Discovery

“The Logic of Science”

All science proceeds according to specific “methodological rules,” or “conventions.” Such rules closely connect with other rules and practices that distinguish one field from another. Scientists make statements and then test them. They articulate hypotheses or “systems of theories,” and then test them, too. The “logic of scientific discovery” both follows and analyzes the methods of the empirical sciences.

Scientific discovery is not “identical with inductive logic.” Inferences are inductive if they move from particular statements to universal truths, but you can’t use induction alone to test theories. Some people may regard “universal statements” as true based on their personal experiences, but that line of thinking isn’t valid in science. You can know only “singular statements” this way. Justification for “inductive inferences” requires having a “principle of induction” to demonstrate the truth of the theory at hand. This principle can’t be “purely logical.” Among other criterion, you must be able to falsify it.

Science isn’t just a matter of coming up with ideas; it demands “critically testing theories” and “selecting them” based ...