Abstract

The approach to scientific methodology developed in my recent book The Logic of Reliable Inquiry (LRI) shares many general features with that summarized in Larry Laudan’s concurrently published collection of papers Beyond Positivism and Relativism (BPR). Nonetheless, this fact might not be apparent, as my own work emphasizes mathematical theorems, whereas Laudan’s draws primarily upon historiography. It is, therefore, of some interest to discuss the extent of the agreement and the significance of the differences. More generally, the discussion will (I) provide a logical analysis of the instrumental significance of empirical meta-methodology and (II) redefine the role of logic in a post-positivistic, naturalized approach to epistemology and scientific method.