May 10th, 2006, 04:08 PM
My philosophical crisis.
So, I've come to reject induction as a valid form of reasoning. Why? It's circular. In order to give validity to induction, one must assume that the universe follows consistent regularities; however, just because the universe has done so in the past, there is no reason to believe it will continue in the future. One could induct that conclusion, but then we return to what we are trying to prove.
After rejecting induction, I read a little on Popper's principle of "falsifibility." According to this theory, scientists do not induct, but rather constantly test theories to see if they can be disproven. Theories which sustain criticism and have the most explainatory power then become adopted. As Popper said, no amount of observation can ever give validity to a theory, but it only takes a single example to disprove one. For a short time, I adhered to my own variation of this form of logic, but now I find it flawed.
While falsifibility does avoid the pitfalls of induction, it cannot evade an assumption of regularities in the universe. Theories are either timeless are applicable to certain time periods; specific instances, however, are limited to the points they occur in. Although a theory might be shown false in a given circumstance, this does not imply that the theory will be false any time in the future. The rigor which a theory sustains falsification at various times says nothing about its future truthfulness.
A critic might here counter that the theory has been fully refuted if a counterexample in an applicable era can be found. To that extent, the critic would be correct. What I am saying, however, is that does not suggest anything about the accuracy of the theory if redrafted to only address future occurances - and if it doesn't, then what's the point?
There is only one logical conclusion which I can arrive to: I can only know my instantaneous experiences, and I cannot state anything about the probability of future events whatsoever. Can anyone save me from this labyrinth of analysis?
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