Mill — The structure of comparison, not only the count
The question that opens it
Can one well-designed contrast provide stronger grounds than a thousand identical records?
- 1
Mill treats induction as inference from observed cases to unobserved cases, or cases at other times, that resemble them in specified respects.
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A System of Logic, Ratiocinative and Inductive
John Stuart Mill · Project Gutenberg text based on the eighth edition
Locator: Book III, chapter I §2 and chapter II §1
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- 2
He holds that simple enumeration without a counterexample is inadequate in many scientific inquiries where there is no assurance that a counterexample, if present, would have been found.
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A System of Logic, Ratiocinative and Inductive
John Stuart Mill · Project Gutenberg text based on the eighth edition
Locator: Book III, chapter III §2
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- 3
Mill presents as a central problem for a theory of induction why one case can sometimes be strong while countless agreeing cases can remain weak.
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A System of Logic, Ratiocinative and Inductive
John Stuart Mill · Project Gutenberg text based on the eighth edition
Locator: Book III, chapter III §3
Open source
- 4
Observed sequence alone may not exclude a common cause; Mill argues that experiments comparing outcomes under arranged conditions can strengthen causal judgment.
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A System of Logic, Ratiocinative and Inductive
John Stuart Mill · Project Gutenberg text based on the eighth edition
Locator: Book III, chapter VII §§3–4
Open source
- 5
The Method of Agreement compares a condition shared by several instances of a phenomenon, while the Method of Difference compares occurrence and non-occurrence cases with other differences controlled.
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A System of Logic, Ratiocinative and Inductive
John Stuart Mill · Project Gutenberg text based on the eighth edition
Locator: Book III, chapter VIII §§1–4
Open sourceJohn Stuart Mill
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Locator: Section 3.3
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- 6
Because of background conditions and multiple causes, results from these methods must be applied cautiously and remain open to further observation.
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John Stuart Mill
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Locator: Section 3.3
Open sourceA System of Logic, Ratiocinative and Inductive
John Stuart Mill · Project Gutenberg text based on the eighth edition
Locator: Book III, chapters VIII and X
Open source
- 7
The first edition of `A System of Logic` was published in two volumes by John W. Parker in London in 1843.
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A System of Logic, Ratiocinative and Inductive, Volume II
John Stuart Mill · 1843 · London: John W. Parker, first edition, volume 2; Oxford University scan
Locator: Title page and publisher metadata, volume 2
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