Inference to the Best Explanation and the Problem of the Description of Inductive Reasoning: An Examination of Lipton's View

Two basic problems about inductive reasoning are those of justification and description. The problem of the description of inductive reasoning has not much been discussed (unlike that of justification). However, Peter Lipton, a contemporary philosopher of science, has concerned himself with the solution of this overlooked problem. He has first examined some models or views about the problem of the description of induction and considered them to be flawed, and then introduced his own model under the attraction version of “inference to the best explanation”. In this paper, I will delineate and then examine Lipton’s model.