2003/07/01 by Jon McGinnis · 2 citations
Arts and Humanities · Psychology · #Medieval and Classical Philosophy #Islamic Thought and Society Studies #Families in Therapy and Culture
paper · pdf · doi:10.1353/hph.2003.0033
openalex publication_date 2003/07/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
The present study considers Ibn S�n�'s (Lat. Avicenna) account of induction (istiqra') and experimentation (tajriba). For Ibn S�n� induction purportedly provided the absolute, necessary and certain first principles of a science. Ibn S�n� criticized induction, arguing that it can neither guarantee the necessity nor provide the primitiveness required of first principles. In it place, Ibn S�n� developed a theory of experimentation, which avoids the pitfalls of induction by not providing absolute, but conditional, necessary and certain first principles. The theory of experimentation that emerges though not modern, does have elements that are similar to a modern conception of scientific method.