Topic
Abductive reasoning
About: Abductive reasoning is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1917 publications have been published within this topic receiving 44645 citations. The topic is also known as: abduction & abductive inference.
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01 Jan 2019
TL;DR: It is claimed that Thought Experiments reproduce extended conceptual metaphors, which instantiate forms of abductive reasoning and partially preserve the ignorance of the authors who produce them, since TEs embed both forms of fallacious reasoning and limited structure-mapping scenarios.
Abstract: In this chapter I will call attention to the role of ignorance in the processes of discovery by taking into account a model-based structure that exploits its tenacity: Thought Experiments (hereafter TEs). Presenting an account of TEs in relation to the ignorance-preservation feature, I will explain both their proficiency in boosting scientific and philosophical reasoning and their tendency to become objects of puzzlement and amazement for philosophers of science. In few words, I will claim that TEs reproduce extended conceptual metaphors, which instantiate forms of abductive reasoning. Therefore, they partially preserve the ignorance of the authors who produce them (even if they also enhance their knowledge), since TEs embed both forms of fallacious reasoning and limited structure-mapping scenarios.
1 citations
01 Jan 2014
TL;DR: In this article, the Peircean notion of instinct and its relationship with abductive reasoning are analyzed in the context of the reflection elaborated by Peirce concerning the nature of information.
Abstract: The objective of this chapter is to analyze the Peircean notion of instinct and its relationship with abductive reasoning in the context of the reflection elaborated by Peirce concerning the nature of information. To this end, the work will be divided into three parts. In the first, we shall present the Peircean concept of abductive reasoning, emphasizing those passages where Peirce mentions instinct as an anchor for this type of reasoning. Special attention will be given to passages of the treatise An Essay Toward Improving Our Reasoning in Security and in Uberty (1913), in which Peirce in maturity discusses the nature of instinct. In the second part, the Peircean concept of information and its relation with sign is presented, focusing on Peirce’s characterization of sign as a vehicle for the communication of form. Finally, in the third part we propose a reading of the Peircean concept of instinct based on his reflection on the concepts of abduction and information. Our working hypothesis is that the Peircean concept of information could help to clarify not only the notion of instinct, but also the role of instinct in abductive reasoning.
1 citations
01 Jan 1992
TL;DR: The authors proposed a framework that prevents explosion of the abductive inference scheme using contextual logic programing to formalize it, assuming the existence of a linguistic structure that restricts the interpretation context.
Abstract: It is our purpose to represent facts abstracted from text in a knowledge base. In order to obtain a highly cohesive picture of what is conveyed by a text, the interpretation process is driven by the interpretation of the sentences' main eventualities. Assuming the existence of a linguistic structure that restricts the interpretation context, we propose a framework that prevents explosion of the abductive inference scheme using contextual logic programing to formalize it.
1 citations
01 Jan 2015
TL;DR: It is argued that late vision does not consist in propositional structures formed in cognitive areas and participate in discursive reasoning and inferences, and does not implicate discursive abductive inferences from propositionally structured premises to recognitional beliefs.
Abstract: In earlier work (Raftopoulos 2009), I analyzed early vision, which I claimed is a cognitively impenetrable (CI) stage of visual processing In contradistinction, late vision is cognitively penetrated (CP) and involves the modulation of processing by cognitively driven attention Its stages have hybrid contents, partly conceptual contents, and partly iconic analogue contents In this chapter, I examine the processes of late vision and discuss whether late vision should be construed as a perceptual stage or as a thought-like stage Using Jackendoff ’s (1989) distinction between visual awareness and visual understanding, I argue that the contents of late vision belong to visual awareness In late vision an abduction or “inference” to the best explanation allows the construction of a representation that best fits a scene Given the sparse retinal image that underdetermines both the distal object and the percept, the visual system fills in the missing information to arrive at the best explanation, that is, the percept that best fits the retinal information I argue that late vision does not consist in propositional structures formed in cognitive areas and participate in discursive reasoning and inferences, and does not implicate discursive abductive inferences from propositionally structured premises to recognitional beliefs
1 citations