A Comparison Between " Inference to the Best Explanation and Conjecture

Since the time of Aristotle three kinds of reasoning has been recognized: syllogism, induction and analogy. Among these only syllogism can bring about certain results and for this reason Aristotle has introduced it as the most reliable way of reasoning. Logicians after Aristotle accepted his view and therefore more than anything dealt with syllogism in the chapter on demonstration.From seventeenth century, following the scientific revolution and amazing growth of empirical sciences induction (and along with it analogy) drew much more attention.From the middle of the twentieth century a demonstrative method under the title of “inference to the best explanation” was recognized. In this method, by postulating a collection of information, the best theory that can explain it is deduced. In this method there is many similarities with what the old logicians called it “conjecture”. The most important difference between these two is that the “conjectural propositions” in predecessors’ view are amongst “certain truths” but in later thinkers’ view these propositions which are the result of heterogeneous or refutable reasoning are probable propositions which by the growth of knowledge their falsity might be detected.A comparison between these two perspectives gives us insights into mental coure of human beings in the coure of conjecture and the results which are derived from it.