O PROBLEMA DA INDUÇÃO: UM ESTUDO SOBRE OS PRINCÍPIOS DO PROBLEMA EM DAVID HUME

Abstract

David Hume casts a skeptical shadow over the methodological basis of modern science by claiming that there is no rational basis for the inductive method. According to him, induction is based on a faculty - namely, imagination - which makes the mind extrapolate the empirical data by creating a fiction based on the fanciful principle of causality. This work aims to follow the conceptual path traced by Hume until its arrival at the problem of induction. The first chapters are fundamental because they prepare the ground for understanding the problem of induction. First, the relevant concepts to the problem of induction will be presented, then the problem of causality will be treated and, finally, we will present the classic problem of induction. The central works to be explored are the Treatise of Human Nature and Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding, the Treatise being the more detailed work containing the theories present in the Investigation.