Philosophy 100 Assignment: On Induction, Descartes, and Russell

This assignment delves into the philosophical concepts of induction, skepticism, and the arguments presented by Descartes and Russell. The assignment requires the student to summarize Cartesian skeptical arguments related to sense-based knowledge, external reality, and mathematical reasoning, and to outline Descartes' argument for his own existence. The assignment also covers Russell's exploration of the problem of induction, including arguments related to past experience, the uniformity of nature, and the justification of induction itself. The student is expected to present these arguments in deductively valid forms and provide clear explanations of the philosophers' main questions and conclusions. The provided solution demonstrates an understanding of the key concepts and provides clear and concise arguments.

Running head: ON INDUCTION
ON INDUCTION
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ON INDUCTION
The form of deriving knowledge has been described in the chapter as that of drawing
inferences or conclusions or reaching at generalizations based on the analysis of the collection of
the derived set of facts and information following a proper methodology which is recognized for
conducting research. This is how induction has been described in the chapter, which refers to the
process of deriving knowledge or conclusions from a coherent set of information by means of
drawing a logical causalistic probability backed by the power of reason and evidences and not
merely on the basis of assumption or belief. That is the correct and the most appropriate method
of deriving knowledge.
Knowledge is something which has to evolve and it is necessary to challenge the existing
knowledge for ensuring the development of the human faculties and also of the human intellect.
Thus for the purpose of achieving development and for the purpose of broadening the horizon of
knowledge it is essential that the knowledge derived out of the process of induction must be
subjected to more scrutiny to test its accuracy which is the essence of enlightenment philosophy.
The aim behind subjecting a particular knowledge to scrutiny lies in the fact that the goal behind
deriving knowledge is to uphold the principle of objectivity, rationality and accuracy.
The reason why certain knowledge has been accepted as the universal truth as they have
proven to be accurate each time the experiments have been conducted with specific stress on the
conditions leading to the inferences and testing its reliability. Also specific stress is also given to
derive the same inference following different experiment and trying to establish connection
between the conditions leading to the conclusion. Hence the recurrence of a particular
phenomenon and the verification of which provides the same results contributes to the
acceptance of a particular phenomenon or knowledge as the absolute truth which is following the
laws of nature, and is guided by the rule of uniformity of nature. However if a particular

2ON INDUCTION
knowledge fails to satisfy itself as an absolute truth the further inductive experiments are
conducted for the purpose of determining if the knowledge is at all valid or not and on the basis
of it the knowledge is either retained or totally rejected or partly retained. The basic criteria of
retaining a knowledge or information lies in how much is the knowledge is being able to satisfy
the condition of accuracy.
Thus a knowledge or information which gets accredited as a universal truth must be
based on experience and empiricism and any exception to it shall not justifiably contribute to the
derivation of inductive knowledge. Going by the logic any knowledge which is not verifiable and
does not have the backing of experience and experiment cannot be considered as true knowledge
at all, which should at best be rendered as a mere assumption. A true knowledge is thus
scientifically derived and the inductive method is the most scientific method of deriving a
particular knowledge or information.

3ON INDUCTION
Reference of article used
Russell, B. (2000). On Induction. In B. Russell, Problems of Philosophy.