Chapter 4
Mill’s Methods of Experimental Enquiry
1. 1. Briefly answer the following questions:
(a) How many methods does Mill recognize? What are they ?
Answer : Mill recognizes five methods. They are 一
(i) The coherent method
(ii) Exceptional method
(iii) Mixed method or coherent discrete method
(iv) Co-transformation method
(v) Final method.
(b) What are the main tests according to Mill?
Answer : Two.
(c) What is the goal of Mill’s ascending method (experimental method)?
Answer: -
(d) What is meant by " removal method " ?
Answer: - The "removal method" is the exclusion of events that have no relationship or casual relationship with the event under investigation, ie, irrelevant one by one.
(e) How many instances are required for the exceptional system?
Answer: - The exceptional system requires two instances.
(f) What is coincidental fault?
Answer: - If we say that any previous or antecedent event is the cause of the next event, then the fault that happens is called coincidental fault
(g) Is the decision of the coherent system safe?
Answer : The decision of the coherent system is uncertain.
(h) Mill's exceptional method of subtraction is based on which formulas?
Answer: -
(i) What is a one-way covariance?
Answer: - If the quantity of one event increases or decreases with the quantity of another event, it is called one-way co-variation.
2. 2. Give examples:
(a) Inverse covariance.
Answer : For example, " The more education there is, the less superstition"
(b) Coincidental faults.
Answer : For example, "The death of the king of the country as soon as he saw a comet in the sky was a coincidence.
3. Write a brief:
(a) Co−variation system.
Answer: - Mill gives the formula of co-variation system as follows 一
"If any change in one event causes a particular change in another event, then that event will be related to the cause or action of the other event or in some way to the cause-and-effect relationship"
Explaining this formula of the mill, to apply the co-variation system, 一
First, two events must be observed.
Secondly, if it is seen that the magnitude of one event changes with the magnitude of another , ie, two events co-change, then the two events will be related by a cause-and-effect relationship.
There are two types of co-variation. That is 一
(i) One-way or direct co-modification
(ii) Inverse co-variation.
(b) One-way covariance.
Answer: - If the quantity of one event increases or decreases with the quantity of another event, it is called one-way co-variation. Another name for one-way covariation is direct covariation .
(c) Subtraction formula.
Answer : The formulas of deviation are based on the relationship between action and cause. The formulas are 一
(i) If the part of the preceding event can be omitted without prejudice to the action, that part can never be the cause or part of the cause of the action.
(ii) If any part of the preceding event cannot be excluded without prejudice to the action, that part must be the cause or part of the cause of the action.
(iii) if there is an increase or decrease in a previous event as well as a subsequent event; Then the two events will be related by a cause-and-effect relationship.
(iv) The logician Joseph introduces the fourth formula of deduction. According to this formula, "If an event is known to be the cause of an action, it cannot be the cause of another event"
(d) Coincidental faults.
Answer : A fault arises when any previous event is attributed to the cause. This is called "coincidental fault" Many people have given many examples of coincidental faults. For example, "coincidence thatthe king of the country died as soon as he saw a comet in the sky
4. The Answer:
(a) What are the other formulas for subtraction?
Answer : There are four formulas for subtraction. Those are 一
(i) If the part of the preceding event can be omitted without prejudice to the action, that part can never be the cause or part of the cause of the action.
(ii) If any part of the preceding event cannot be excluded without prejudice to the action, that part must be the cause or part of the cause of the action.
(iii) If the increase and decrease of a previous event is accompanied by the increase and decrease of a subsequent event, then the two events will be related by a cause-and-effect relationship.
(iv) The logician Joseph introduces the fourth formula of subtraction. According to this formula, "If an event is known to be the cause of an action, it cannot be the cause of another event"
(b) Explain the coherent system with examples.
Mill explains the inferential method by saying , "If there is only one minor condition between two or more instances in which the phenomenon under investigation is present, and if this minor condition is the only similarity of all the instances, then it is the cause or effect of the phenomenon under investigation.
This method cannot be used if there are fewer than two instances. In addition, the examples must be analyzed by observation and compared with each other.
Any situation or subject in which these examples do not match or that exists irregularly must be excluded. None of those are the reasons.
Finally, the situation in which all the examples of the subjects match will be identified as the cause or effect of the phenomenon under investigation.
Symbolic–Example:
| Previous events | Exploratory events |
| 1. ABC | abc |
| 2. ACD | acd |
| 3. ADE | thing |
So 'A' is the cause of 'a' Here are three examples to investigate the cause of 'a' It shows that ' 'BCDE' exists irregularly. However, action 'a' has occurred. Only in the case of 'A' do all the instances match. So it was decided that 'A' is the cause of 'a'.
Real example: - Assume that malaria fever is an investigational phenomenon. To determine the cause of this, the example of several malaria patients was investigated. The patients were carefully observed and questioned to find out that they had no similarities in terms of housing, diet, physical condition, age, etc. They have each been bitten by an encephalitis mosquito. This syphilis mosquito bite is the common condition in all the patients. Therefore, it was concluded that the syphilis mosquito is the cause of malaria.
(c) Write down three disadvantages of applying coherent systems and describe ways to overcome them.
Answer: - Three disadvantages of applying coherent system are mentioned below 一
(i) Practical defects or practical imperfections
(ii) Natural defects or natural imperfections
(iii) The difficulty of the coherent system in distinguishing between co-location, relationship and co-operation of cause and effect.
The following are the ways to overcome the difficulties of applying the coherent system
(i) Increasing the number of instances leads closer to cause-and-effect relationships. If there is a similarity in one subject even as the number of examples increases, then the similar subject increases the probability of a cause-and-effect relationship.
(ii) The application of coherent discrimination systems eliminates natural defects to a large extent. The coherent discriminant system analyzes both similar and dissimilar examples. The similarity is the positive example. The discrepancy is the negative example. In negative instances, the event to be explored is absent. In this case, it is easier to find the matching subject of the positive instance class as the action or cause of the phenomenon under investigation. It also greatly reduces the possibility of multicausality.
(d) What is an exceptional system? Why is it called the discovery system?
Answer : Mill explains the exceptional system as follows:
"If an instance in which the phenomenon is present and another instance in which the phenomenon is absent have complete agreement in all but one circumstance or subject and the discrepant is present in the first instance, then the only difference between the two instances is inseparable It will be an organ.
The reason for naming the exceptional system "discovery system" depends on the specific context. Here are two possible explanations as follows 一
(i) Uncovering the unexpected: - The system is called a "discovery system" because it excels at finding patterns, anomalies or insights that are not easily obvious by traditional methods. It "discovers" these exceptional elements hidden within the data.
( ii) Learning and adaptation: - The system can be a machine learning system which actively explores and learns from the data. This "discovery" process allows it to constantly improve its performance and potentially uncover new knowledge or relationships within the data.
(e) Explain the co−variation system with examples.
Answer: - Mill gives the formula of co-variation system as follows 一
"If any change in one event causes a particular change in another event, then that event will be related to the cause or action of the other event or in some way to the cause-and-effect relationship"
Explaining this formula of the mill, to apply the co-variation system, 一
First, two events must be observed.
Secondly, if it is seen that the magnitude of one event changes with the magnitude of another , ie, two events co-change, then the two events will be related by a cause-and-effect relationship.
There are two types of co-variation. That is 一
(i) One-way or direct co-modification
(ii) Inverse co-variation.
(f) What is the final method? Is it a special form of exceptional system?
Answer : Mill gives the formula for the finite system as ᅡ
"If any part of an event is known to be the function of a particular preceding part from a foreknowledge arrival, then that part which remains when that part is excluded from the whole event will be the function of the preceding residual part.
There are important similarities between the finite system and the exceptional system in the required components and methods of application.
(g) Write down two advantages and two disadvantages of co-transformation systems.
Answer: - Two advantages of co-variation system are mentioned below 一
(i) In the case of quantitative change, only the co-change system will determine the cause-and-effect relationship.
(ii) Cause-and-effect relationships are determined by applying co-variation methods to fixed factors such as air pressure, gravity, temperature, etc.
Two disadvantages of the co-conversion system are as follows:
(i) The co-variation system cannot be applied outside of experience. Because it is a matter of experience to notice the co-change of two events. Therefore, the application area of co-conversion systems is very limited.
(ii) The co-variation system is applicable only to quantitative changes. It does not apply to qualitative changes. In some cases, there is no quantitative variation. Qualitative change determines the size of an event. This system cannot be applied in such cases.
(h) Explain " exceptional system is mainly experimental system "一.
Answer: - The exceptional system is dependent on testing. Therefore, Mill calls the exceptional system the system of testing. The exceptional system requires only two instances. Two of these examples are positive examples and the other is negative examples. In other words, one of the two instances should be present at the explored event and one should be absent.
The statement that "exceptional systems are essentially experimental systems" captures the idea that truly groundbreaking or extraordinary systems often push boundaries and include experimental elements. Below is a division 一
(i) Exceptional system : - This is a system that stands out for its performance, efficiency or innovation. They go beyond what is considered "normal" and achieve remarkable results.
(ii) Experimental systems: - This is a system that is still under development or testing. It involves trying out new ideas, methods or technologies to ensure they work best.
So, the quote suggests, there is an element of venturing into the unknown and embracing a bit of experimentation in order to achieve truly outstanding results.
