Quote:
Originally Posted by ScotiaCoast  I read into this more like.. most ravens are black, and just because you may find one albino raven does not stop the majority of ravens from being black. The exception - the albino raven - does not change the general rule, that ravens are black.
Well, that's probably a very stupid analogy, but that's just how I interpreted what Marco Polo said.. not that I'm trying to speak for the original author or anyone else.. or to take sides in this debate for that matter (how unmanly of me  ). |
Good old 'Hempel's paradox of the ravens'.
If I say 'all ravens are black' and find one white raven, then obviously the statement 'all ravens are black' is false. However, the statement 'most ravens are black' may still be true. For example, if 51% of all ravens are black and 49% of all ravens are white, then the statement 'most ravens are black' is true. (That is not the paradox btw)
However, the statement 'most ravens are black' is a weak claim, and thus any argument relying on 'most ravens are black' as a premise can only be considered a weak inductive argument.