Abductive Inference in Logical Theory and Scientific Practice

FAIN: FB-12852-76

Lance R. Factor
Knox College (Galesburg, IL 61401-4938)

To examine critically Peirce's remarks on abduction and the logic of hypothesis formation; the development of some definitions of "strong" and "weak" hypothetic inference by using the Stalnaker and Lewis semantics for counterfactuals, and; the role of hypothesis formation in scientific practice with special emphasis on the problem of describing rules for weighing competing hypotheses.