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Full-Text Articles in Philosophy
Natural Kinds And Ceteris Paratis Generalizations: In Praise Of Hunches, W. Christropher Boyd, Richard N. Boyd
Natural Kinds And Ceteris Paratis Generalizations: In Praise Of Hunches, W. Christropher Boyd, Richard N. Boyd
Chemistry Faculty Publications
According to stereotypical logical empiricist conceptions, scientific findings are approximately true (or perhaps true ceteris paribus) law-like generalizations used to predict natural phenomena. They are deployed using topic-neutral, generally reliable inferential principles like deductive or statistical inferences. Natural kinds are the kinds in such generalizations. Chemical examples show that such conceptions are seriously incomplete. Some important chemical generalizations are true often enough, even though not usually true, and they are applied using esoteric topic- and discipline-specific inference rules. Their important methodological role is to underwrite often-enough reliable, often socially implemented, scientifically informed guessing about chemical phenomena. Some chemical natural …