Peirce-suit of truth – why inference to the best explanation and abduction ought not to be confused
Erkenntnis 60 (1):75-105 (2004)
| Abstract | It is well known that the process of scientific inquiry, according to Peirce, is drivenby three types of inference, namely abduction, deduction, and induction. What isbehind these labels is, however, not so clear. In particular, the common identificationof abduction with Inference to the Best Explanation (IBE) begs the question,since IBE appears to be covered by Peirce's concept of induction, not that of abduction.Consequently, abduction ought to be distinguished from IBE, at least on Peirce's account. The main aim of the paper, however, is to show that this distinction is most relevant with respect to current problems in philosophy of science and epistemology (like attempts to supply suitable notions of realism and truth as well as related concepts like coherence and unification). In particular, I also try to show that (and in what way) Peirce's inferential triad can function as a method that ensures both coherence and correspondence. It is in this respect that his careful distinction between abduction and induction (or IBE) ought to be heeded. | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,865 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesSami Paavola (2004). Abduction as a Logic and Methodology of Discovery: The Importance of Strategies. Foundations of Science 9 (3):267-283.
Michael Hoffmann (1999). Problems with Peirce's Concept of Abduction. Foundations of Science 4 (3):271-305.
Sami Paavola (2011). Abductive Cognition: The Epistemological and Eco-Cognitive Dimensions of Hypothetical Reasoning (Review). Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society 47 (2):252-256.
Robert G. Burton (1999). A Neurocomputational Approach to Abduction. Minds and Machines 9 (2):257-265.
Michael H. G. Hoffmann (2010). "Theoric Transformations" and a New Classification of Abductive Inferences. Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society 46 (4):570-590.
Woosuk Park (2012). Abduction and Estimation in Animals. Foundations of Science 17 (4):321-337.
Adolfas Mackonis (2013). Inference to the Best Explanation, Coherence and Other Explanatory Virtues. Synthese 190 (6):975-995.
Valeriano Iranzo (2007). Abduction and Inference to the Best Explanation. Theoria 22 (3):339-346.
Ilkka Niiniluoto (1999). Defending Abduction. Philosophy of Science 66 (3):451.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads45 ( #25,048 of 556,772 )Recent downloads (6 months)4 ( #20,403 of 556,772 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
