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In this final part of the book several rules of discovery are considered, that is, non-deductive rules for finding hypotheses to solve problems. Of course, finding hypotheses is not a sufficient condition for discovery. The latter requires hypotheses to be plausible, and the plausibility test procedure of  Chapter 4 involves operations beyond simple hypothesis formation. Nevertheless, finding hypotheses is a necessary condition for discovery and, in that sense, one may speak of rules of discovery. The latter are not a closed set, given once for all, but rather an open set which can always be extended as research develops. Each such extension is a development of the analytic method, which grows as new non-deductive rules are added. As Bacon says, "the art of discovery may grow with discoveries."

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-6091-2_20

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