Abduction, Reason and Science

Processes of Discovery and Explanation
2001
ISBN: 978-0-306-46514-7
Verlag: Springer US

Buch, Englisch, 205 Seiten, HC runder Rücken kaschiert, Format (B × H): 160 mm x 241 mm, Gewicht: 1100 g

This volume explores abduction (inference to explanatory hypotheses), an important but neglected topic in scientific reasoning. My aim is to inte­ grate philosophical, cognitive, and computational issues, while also discuss­ ing some cases of reasoning in science and medicine. The main thesis is that abduction is a significant kind of scientific reasoning, helpful in delineating the first principles of a new theory of science. The status of abduction is very controversial. When dealing with abduc­ tive reasoning misinterpretations and equivocations are common. What are the differences between abduction and induction? What are the differences between abduction and the well-known hypothetico-deductive method? What did Peirce mean when he considered abduction a kind of inference? Does abduction involve only the generation of hypotheses or their evaluation too? Are the criteria for the best explanation in abductive reasoning epis­ temic, or pragmatic, or both? How many kinds of abduction are there? The book aims to increase knowledge about creative and expert infer­ ences. The study of these high-level methods of abductive reasoning is situ­ ated at the crossroads of philosophy, epistemology, artificial intel1igence, cognitive psychology, and logic; that is, at the heart of cognitive science. Philosophers of science in the twentieth century have traditionally distin­ guished between the inferential processes active in the logic of discovery and the ones active in logic of justification.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Magnani, L.

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Allgemeine Psychologie Kognitionspsychologie
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften: Allgemeines Wissenschaften: Theorie, Epistemologie, Methodik
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Philosophische Logik, Argumentationstheorie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Wissenschaftstheorie, Wissenschaftsphilosophie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1 Hypothesis Generation.- 2 Theoretical Abduction.- 3 Manipulative Abduction.- 4 Diagnostic Reasoning.- 5 Visual and Temporal Abduction.- 6 Governing Inconsistencies.- 7 Hypothesis Withdrawal in Science.- References.- Author Index.