Abstract

Analysis of the history of the methodology of scientific knowledge shows that in evaluating the cognitive status of induction , two extreme, diametrically opposed approaches have always existed — inductivism and anti-inductivism. According to the inductivists , induction is the basic method for acquiring and substantiating scientific laws and theories; for in their opinion, empirical data are the source, foundation, and criterion of the truth of concrete scientific knowledge. Furthermore, it must be emphasized that the inductivists have never denied the significance of other methods of cognition