 |
|
Peikoff.com > Courses & Lectures> Induction in Physics and Philosophy |
|
|
Home
Objectivism: The
Philosophy of Ayn Rand
Essays and Articles
Ford Hall Forum
Lectures
Radio Show
Library of Congress Experience Site Map
|
 Induction in Physics and Philosophy These historic lectures present, for the first time, the Objectivist solution to the problem of induction—and thereby complete, in every essential respect, the validation of reason. Dr. Peikoff begins by identifying the axioms of induction and the method of establishing their objectivity, including the role of measurement-omission. This enables him to make clear the parallels between concept-formation and generalization-formation, and leads him to discover the real distinction between induction and deduction. Dr. Peikoff goes on to discuss the methods used in science to prove non-axiomatic generalizations and advanced theories. He stresses with many examples (from Galileo, Newton, Faraday, Maxwell and others) the roles of experimentation and of mathematics. The course then considers the similarities between philosophy and physics. Dr. Peikoff shows that the differences affect only the form (but not the essence) of induction, and illustrates this fact by analyzing the inductive proof of typical Objectivist principles. The course concludes that (apart from mathematics) the same process of induction is essential to every rational field-and that, as a result, truth in any such field, including philosophy, possesses the same objectivity as that of physics, the archetype of science itself. Order information |
|
|
||
|
Copyright © 2004 Leonard Peikoff. All
rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form or manner whatsoever without the express permission of Leonard Peikoff. http://www.peikoff.com |
||