Scientific Inference

A consistent 1931 account of how the theories proposed by physicists have been derived from, and are supported by, experimental data.

Harold Jeffreys (Author)

9780521180788, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 17 February 2011

282 pages
21.6 x 14 x 1.6 cm, 0.36 kg

A scientific theory is originally based on a particular set of observations. How can it be extended to apply outside this original range of cases? This question, which is fundamental to natural philosophy, is considered in detail in this book, which was originally published in 1931, and first published as this third edition in 1973. Sir Harold begins with the principle that 'it is possible to learn from experience and to make inferences from beyond the data directly known to sensation'. He goes on to analyse this principle, discuss its status and investigate its logical consequences. The result is a book of importance to anyone interested in the foundations of modern scientific method. His thesis provides a consistent account of how the theories proposed by physicists have been derived from, and are supported by, experimental data.

Preface to the third edition
Preface to the second edition
Preface to the first edition
1. Logic and scientific inference
2. Probability
3. Sampling
4. Errors
5. Physical magnitudes
6. Mensuration
7. Newtonian dynamics
8. Light and relativity
9. Miscellaneous questions
10. Statistical mechanics and quantum theory
Appendices
Index.

Subject Areas: Philosophy of science [PDA]