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.

Service-dominant logic for managing the logistics-manufacturing interface: A case study

Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the management of the logistics-manufacturing interface between the manufacturer and its logistics service provider from the perspective of the service-dominant (S-D) logic. Design/methodology/approach: The approach adopted is that of abductive reasoning through case study: data is primarily gleaned from semi-structured in-depth interviews. Field visits and secondary documentation are used to ensure data validity. Findings: The results show that the interface can be categorized into three levels: design interface between products and logistic services, process interface between manufacturing processes and service-offering processes, and information interface between manufacturing information systems and logistics information systems. The results also indicate that ten foundational premises of S-D logic, especially service-focused, customer-oriented, and rational views can be applied in defining and managing these interfaces. Research limitations/implications: This research contributes not only to the theory of S-D logic and managing interface, but also provides managers with guidelines of applying S-D logic to build a service-focused, customer-oriented and relational logic to effectively manage the logistics-manufacturing interface. However, the research is limited to the context of automotive and logistics industries. Originality/value: Three levels of logistics-manufacturing interface, including design, process and information are identified, and S-D logic is applied to identify and manage the interface.

Theory formation by abduction : a case study based on the chemical revolution

Abstract: Author(s): O'Rorke, Paul; Morris, Steven; Schulenburg, David | Abstract: Abduction is the process of constructing explanations. This chapter suggests that automated abduction is a key to advancing beyond the "routine theory revision" methods developed in early AI research towards automated reasoning systems capable of "world model revision" - dramatic changes in systems of beliefs such as occur in children's cognitive development and in scientific revolutions. The chapter describes a general approach to automating theory revision based upon computational methods for theory formation by abduction. The approach is based on the idea that, when an anomaly is encountered, the best course is often simply to suppress parts of the original theory thrown into question by the contradiction and to derive an explanation of the anomalous observation based on relatively solid, basic principles. This process of looking for explanations of unexpected new phenomena can lead by abductive inference to new hypotheses that can form crucial parts of a revised theory. As an illustration, the chapter shows how some of Lavoisier's key insights during the Chemical Revolution can be viewed as examples of theory formation by abduction.

Nonstandard Queries and Nonstandard Answers

Abstract: An overview of cooperative answering Cobase: a cooperative database system Exploiting user models to avoid misconstruals Modal logics for practical reasoning Deriving answers to safety queries Abductive reasoning in three-valued logic for knowledge bases Labelled abduction and relevance reasoning Hypothetical reasoning with intuitionistic logic A modal analysis for subjunctive queries Updates and subjunctive queries

Types of abduction in tool behavior

Abstract: Tool-use behavior is currently one of the most intriguing and widely debated topics in cognitive neuroscience. Different accounts of our ability to use tools have been proposed. In the first part of the paper we review the most prominent interpretations and suggest that none of these accounts, considered in itself, is sufficient to explain tool use. In the second part of the paper we disentangle three different types of reasoning on tools, characterized by a different distribution of motor and cognitive ingredients. At the conceptual level, these types of reasoning reflect the distinction between three types of abductive inference as they are described in semiotic studies. At the functional level, we suggest that these types of reasoning on tools may correspond to different mental processes, possibly implemented in different regions of the left inferior parietal lobe. This proposal can account for the different interpretations commonly associated with the role of the left parietal cortex in tool use.