Nelson Goodman

Goodman addressed the problem of induction twice. His first approach is famous, centers on his “new riddle of induction,” and is the locus classicus of modern reflective equilibrium theory. In it the focus is on inductive inferences and rules of inductive inference. In his second approach, the focus is instead on the conclusions of inductive inferences to explanations of the available data. Here reflective equilibrium theory is more fully developed. The author in this chapter argues that Goodman’s two accounts of inductive justification in terms of reflective equilibrium share a deep commonality.