The Ledger

Hume's problem of induction remains unsolved. No philosopher has produced a non-circular justification for the belief that the future will resemble the past. Science, logic, probability, and common sense all assume what they are trying to prove.

Hume's response was not skeptical paralysis but naturalism: we are creatures of habit, and habit works, and that is what we have.

Karl Popper tried to eliminate induction from science entirely. Nelson Goodman showed the problem runs even deeper than Hume thought. The debate continues.

The ledger stays open.