Workshop in Early Career Work in Progress (Tuesday - Week 5, HT25)
Tuesday 18 February, 4:30pm - 6:00pm
Ryle Room, Radcliffe Humanities
Fabian Pregel: 'The New Age of Enumerative Induction'
Abstract: Enumerative induction in mathematics—the idea that sampling evidence can yield high credence or even knowledge of mathematical statements—was long dismissed, particularly by Frege. Yet, it has recently regained prominence. This paper aims to move the debate about its viability forward in several ways. First, it clarifies what exact epistemic good enumerative induction might secure. It then critically evaluates three recent arguments for enumerative induction’s viability. Based on this evaluation, the paper proposes a new criterion for explaining why enumerative induction can, in some settings, surmount inductive scepticism. Finally, a case study on Goldbach’s Conjecture illustrates when enumerative induction can meet this criterion.
The Workshop in Early Career Work in Progress is a venue for early career philosophers (usually within five years of PhD or employed on a fixed term position) to present their research in a low stakes, friendly environment.
