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method of difference

method of difference The method of difference is a historical logical method used in discovery or proof by comparing two situations that are alike except that the phenomenon being studied is present in one and absent in the other.

The method of difference is a historical logical method used in discovery or proof by comparing two situations that are alike except that the phenomenon being studied is present in one and absent in the other. The reasoning is that the factor that changes along with the phenomenon may be its cause, its effect, or an essential part of its cause, and the method is especially suited to experiment because such controlled differences are hard to obtain in ordinary observation.

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Sources

Drafting source: Baldwin Dictionary of Philosophy and Psychology, 1901. 1901 New York Macmillan original; archive index checked 2026-10-18. “Difference (method of)” (Difference (method of)).
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PsychTerms (psychterms.org), CC BY 4.0, version 1. “method of difference.” Development preview.

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