The fact is that scientific research is successful, and the real question is, will it be so in future? If there is a formula of induction by which success is achieved, then by this formula we can say, as long as it will be used science will succeed. If there is

I wish to address myself, in this chapter, to the so-called scandal in philosophy. The expression, you remember, is due to Immanuel Kant. He said, the fact that idealism is unrefuted is a scandal in philosophy. Alfred North Whitehead said, the fact that the problem of induction has not yet been solved is a scandal in philosophy. For my part, I do not think we are such a scandalous group, and I do not feel that the problem is a scandal - except, perhaps, in the Greek sense of skandalos, a snare, a stumbling-block, a frustration. But even this, I contend, is a thing of the past. Philosophy need not be frustrated any more. We can face in our daily studies myriads of interesting and promising problems, even of some crazy quasi-empirical nature. I wish to begin by posing to you one. It is alleged, very poorly by the way, that when a new invention is empirically backed by positive evidence to some given degree, it is rational to employ it. We know from experience that there are bureaux of standards, food- and-drug administrations, even chambers of commerce, which impose empirical standards in civilized countries. Also, that the accepted empirical standards are different in different countries and operate sometimes with happy results, sometimes not. I suggest that philosophers may find all this terribly relevant and interesting for their work. That is to say, I recom­mend the empirical study of existing standards of adequate empirical study as a new avenue for philosophy; this is a direct continuation of the traditional preoccupation of philosophers with the problem of induction, and it need not be frustrating, much less scandalous.

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