DOCSLIB.ORG

Abduction, Reason, and Science

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Abduction, Reason, and Science AI Magazine Volume 23 Number 1 (2002) (© AAAI) Book Reviews been conceptually challenging but al- so shows a (terminological) confusion Book Reviews with its close neighbor, induction. This book contributes to the rapidly growing literature on the topic of ab- ductive reasoning. By placing abduc- Abduction, Reason, and tion at the heart of the foundations of AI from philosophical, cognitive, and computational perspectives, the au- Science: Processes of Discovery thor makes us aware that abduction is not at all a new topic of research. In and Explanation—A Review addition, by introducing fine distinc- tions in abductive kinds, it shows its relevance as a recent topic of research in all these fields. Atocha Aliseda The importance of abduction has been recognized by leading re- searchers in all relevant fields. Al- though for Jaakko Hintikka, abduc- tion is the fundamental problem of roadly speaking, abduction is a his discovery does not work. His helio- contemporary epistemology, in which reasoning process invoked to ex- centric view allowed him to think that abductive inferences are assembled as Bplain a puzzling observation. the sun, so near to the center of the “answers to the inquirer’s explicit or There are however, a variety of differ- planetary system, and so large, must (usually) tacit question put to some ent approaches that claim to capture somehow cause the planets to move as definite source of answers (informa- the true nature of this concept. One they do. In addition to this strong con- tion)” (p. 129), for Herbert Simon, the reason for this diversity lies in the fact jecture, he also had to generalize his nature of the retroductive process (an- that abductive reasoning occurs in a findings for Mars to all planets by as- other term for abduction) “is the main multitude of contexts. It concerns cases suming that the same physical condi- subject of the theory of problem solv- that cover the simplest selection of al- tions could be obtained throughout ing” (p. 16). For Paul Thagard, several ready existing hypotheses to the gener- the solar system. kinds of abduction play a key role as ation of new concepts in science. It also Research on abduction in AI dates heuristic strategies in the program PI (for “processes of induction”), a work- concerns cases where the observation is back to the 1970s, but it is only fairly puzzling because it is novel versus cases ing system devoted to explaining in in which the surprise concerns an computational terms the main prob- lems of philosophy of science, such as anomalous observation. For example, if Abduction, Reason, and Science: Pro- we wake up, and the lawn is wet, we cesses of Discovery and Explanation, scientific discovery, explanation, and might explain this observation by as- Lorenzo Magnani, New York, evaluation (p. 49). suming that it must have rained or that Kluwer Academic/Plenum Pub- In agreement with other current ap- the sprinklers have been on. This is a lishers, 2001, 205 pages, ISBN 0- proaches to abduction, for the author practical setting found in our day-to- 306-46514-0 (hardback). of this book, there are two main episte- day commonsense reasoning when a mological meanings of the word ab- novel phenomenon is needed for an duction: (1) abduction that only gener- recently that it has attracted great in- explanation. Abduction also occurs in ates plausible hypotheses and (2) ab- terest in areas such as logic program- more theoretical scientific contexts. For duction as inference to the best ming, knowledge assimilation, and di- example, it has been claimed (Hanson explanation that also evaluates them 1961; Peirce 1958) that Johannes Ke- agnosis. It has been a topic of several to further obtain the best one. In this pler’s great discovery that the orbit of workshops at AI conferences (1996, book, the first meaning is further divid- the planets is elliptical rather than cir- 1998, 2000 European Conference on ed into selective or creative. Selection cular was a prime piece of abductive Artificial Intelligence; 1997 Interna- takes place in contexts such as medical reasoning. What initially led to this dis- tional Joint Conference on Artificial diagnosis, in which the task is to select covery was his anomalous observation Intelligence) as well as model-based a diagnosis from a precompiled set of that the longitudes of Mars did not fit reasoning conferences (1998, 2001 diagnostic entities. Creativity is present circular orbits. Moreover, before even Model-Based Reasoning Conference). in issues such as the discovery of a new dreaming that the best explanation in- It has also been at the center of recent disease. The latter meaning, abduction volved ellipses instead of circles, he publications (Flach and Kakas 2000; as inference to the best explanation, is tried several other forms. Kepler had to Josephson and Josephson 1994). In all described by the complete abduction- make some other assumptions about these places, the discussion about the deduction-induction cycle, represented the planetary system, without which different aspects of abduction has in an epistemological model for diag- Copyright © 2002, American Association for Artificial Intelligence. All rights reserved. 0738-4602-2002 / $2.00 SPRING 2002 113 Book Reviews nostic reasoning (ST-MODEL) in which se- necessarily sentential or formal). of the chapters are dedicated to the lective abduction introduces a set of This book presents as well applica- analysis of the role of inconsistencies plausible hypotheses, followed by de- tions of the several distinctions of ab- in scientific discovery (chapter 6) and duction to explore their consequences duction introduced earlier. For exam- the makeup of hypotheses withdrawal and induction to test them, to either ple, the case of medical diagnostic rea- in science (chapter 7). increase their likelihood or refute all soning is described as an instance of Abduction, Reason, and Science is a but one. Even though the selection and theoretical abduction, showing that its book for those interested in the sub- evaluation phases of abduction are in machinery fits the epistemological ject of discovery who are willing to get fact integrated in cognitive models of model mentioned earlier; the patient an integrated picture from philoso- human thought, it is nevertheless a data are abstracted and used to select phy, cognitive science, and computer useful methodological distinction for hypotheses, and these hypothetical so- science, all disciplines concerned with the development of real artificial rea- lutions in turn provide starting condi- the question of creative reasoning. A soning systems. tions for the forecast of expected conse- beginner can get a pretty good idea of Moreover, Magnani proposes an in- quences, which are later compared to the recent status of research on abduc- teresting distinction between theoret- the patient’s data to evaluate (corrobo- tion, and at the same time, it pleases ical abduction and manipulative ab- rate or eliminate) those hypotheses the expert by informing him/her duction. Although theoretical abduc- that come from deduction. A particular about approaches in other fields and tion “is the process of reasoning in application is the system NEOANEMIA, a offering a detailed and interesting no- which explanatory hypotheses are working diagnostic system for disorders tice about the original views of its au- formed and evaluated” (p. 18), and such as anemia developed at the home thor, Lorenzo Magnani. can, in turn, be sentential or model university of the author (Pavia). Visual I found it interesting that the ST-MOD- based (to be explained later), manipu- and temporal aspects of abduction are EL resembles the American pragmatist lative abduction is action based, the also taken into account and presented Charles S. Peirce’s complete framework case in which “the suggested hypothe- as cases of model-based creative abduc- of abduction, which considers not only ses are inherently ambiguous until ar- tion. This perspective highlights the its inferential logical structure (which is ticulated into configurations of real or importance of both spatial reasoning what most approaches take) but also “imaginated” [SIC] entities (p. 54). and anomaly resolution for hypotheses two further aspects, namely, (1) testing The interplay of these two aspects generation and scientific discovery. The and (2) economy. I think that it has be- “consists of a superimposition of inter- concrete example is the discovery of come quite clear by now—and this nal and external, where the elements non-Euclidean geometries, about book makes a strong point in this direc- of the external structures gain new which it is argued that some of the hy- tion —that the study of the role of test- meanings and relationships to one an- potheses created by Lobachevsky were ing in abduction is fundamental for its other, thanks to the constructive ex- indeed image based, something that understanding. planatory theoretical activity” (p. 59). helped to deal with the fifth parallel References Magnani offers an impressive and postulate by manipulation of symbols. comprehensive overview of the logical Interestingly, the author claims that Flach, P., and Kakas, A., eds. 2000. Abduc- approaches to abduction, covering the the anomalous (or problematic) aspect tive and Inductive Reasoning: Essays on Their Relation and Integration. Applied Logic Se- deductive model, the abductive logic of the Euclidean fifth postulate lies in ries. New York: Kluwer Academic. programming paradigm, and ap- that “we cannot draw or ‘imagine’ the Hanson, N. R. 1961. Patterns of Scientific proaches linking abduction to the two lines at infinity” (p. 165), which, in Discovery. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge well-known framework of belief revi- contrast to the rest of the postulates, is University Press. sion, all of which are considered as empirically unverifiable and, thus, Josephson, J., and Josephson, S., eds. 1994. cases of theoretical sentential abduc- opens the door to the possibility of cre- Abductive Inference: Computation, Philosophy, tion, given their logical character.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Nancy J. Nersessian Regents' Professor of Cognitive Science
    Last updated April 2021 CURRICULUM VITAE PERSONAL: Nancy J. Nersessian Regents’ Professor of Cognitive Science (Emerita) Georgia Institute of Technology Research Associate Harvard University Department of Psychology William James Hall 33 Kirkland St. Cambridge, MA 02138 Email: [email protected] [email protected] Web page: www.cc.gatech.edu/~nersessian EDUCATION: Case Western Reserve University: Ph.D., Philosophy 1977; M.A., Philosophy 1974; Boston University: A.B., Physics and Philosophy (with distinction in Logic) 1969 ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS Harvard University, Research Associate, Department of Psychology, 2014-present Georgia Institute of Technology, Regents’ Professor of Cognitive Science, 2007-2014 Regents’ Professor Emerita, 2014-present Professor, of Cognitive Science 1993-2007 Professor, School of Interactive Computing and School of Public Policy Adjunct Professor, College of Architecture Adjunct Professor, School of Literature, Communication, & Culture N.J. Nersessian Director, Program in Cognitive Science, 1994-1999, 2003-2005 Member: Program in Philosophy, Science, & Technology Program in Women, Science, & Technology Princeton University, Program in History of Science and Department of History, Assistant Professor, 1987-1993 Associate Member, Department of Philosophy, 1987-1993 Member: Program in Cognitive Studies, 1992-1993 Cognitive Studies Committee, 1987-1992 University of Pittsburgh, Learning Research and Development Center, Postdoctoral Research Associate, 1986-1987 Twente University of Technology,
    [Show full text]
  • Abduction, Reason, and Science Abduction, Reason, and Science Processes of Discovery and Explanation
    Abduction, Reason, and Science Abduction, Reason, and Science Processes of Discovery and Explanation Lorenzo Magnani University of Pavia Pavia, Italy, and Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, Georgia Springer Science+Business Media, LLC Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Magnani, Lorenzo Abduction, reason, and ,cience: processes of discovcry and explanation/Lorenzo Magnani. p. cm. IncIudes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4613-4637-1 ISBN 978-1-4419-8562-0 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-8562-0 1. Science-Philosophy. 2. Abduction (Logic). 3. Discoveries in science. I. Tirle. Q175.32.A24 M34 2001 501-dc21 00-052061 Front cover: Descartes's explanation of the rainbow (from his Meteora, 1656). ISBN 978-1-4613-4637-1 © 2001 Springer Science+Business Media New York Originally published by Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers, New York in 2001 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1990 http://www.wkap.nl/ 1098765432 A c.I.P. record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. AII rights reserved No par! of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without wrilten permis sion from the Publisher To my daughter Giovanna Science does not rest upon solid bedrock. The bold structure of its theories rises, as it were, above a swamp. It is like a building erected on piles. The piles are driven down from above into the swamp, but not down to any natural or "given" base; and if we stop driving the piles deeper, it is not because we have reached firm ground.
    [Show full text]
  • Calendar of Events
    AI Magazine Volume 25 Number 2 (2004) (© AAAI) Calendar ■ Contact: David Heckerman Calendar of Events Microsoft Research, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98008 USA Voice: 425-706 2662 E-mail: [email protected] URL: www.ceas.cc August 2004 Key Centre of Design Computing and July 2004 Cognition, 148 City Road AUGUST 2 Chippendale, Sydney, NSW 2006 Modeling Decisions for Artificial In- JULY 19–21 Australia telligence. Barcelona, Catalonia, International Conference on Design Voice: 61-2 93512051 Spain Computing and Cognition (DCC'04). E-mail: [email protected] ■ Sponsors: Cambridge, MA URL: www.arch.usyd.edu.au/kcdc/con- European Society for Fuzzy Logic and ■ Sponsors: ferences/vr04/ Key Centre of Design Computing and Technology, Japan Society for Fuzzy Cognition, University of Sydney: JULY 25–29 Theory and intelligent informatics, School of Architecture and Planning, Nineteenth National Conference on Catalan Society for Artificial Intelli- Massachusetts Institute of Technology Artificial Intelligence. San Jose, CA gence ■ Contact: ■ ■ Sponsor: Contact: John Gero American Association for Vicenc Torra Key Centre of Design Computing and Artificial Intelligence IIIA-CSIC, Campus UAB s/n Cognition, University of Sydney Bellaterra, Catalonia 08193 Spain Wilkinson Building (G04) ■ Contact: Voice: +34-935809570 Sydney NSW 2008 Australia Conference Coordinator E-mail: [email protected] Voice: 61-2 9351 4766 American Association for Artificial Fax: 61-2 9351 3031 Intelligence, AAAI-04 URL: www.iiia.csic.es/~vtorra/mdai/A E-mail: [email protected] 445 Burgess Drive, Suite 100 URL: www.arch.usyd.edu.au/kcdc/con- Menlo Park, CA 94025 USA AUGUST 2–4 ferences/dcc04/ Voice: 650-328-3123 International Workshop on Qualita- Fax: 650-321-4457 tive Reasoning.
    [Show full text]
  • Logic and Abduction: Cognitive Externalizations in Demonstrative Environments
    Logic and Abduction: Cognitive Externalizations in Demonstrative Environments Lorenzo MAGNANI BIBLID [0495-4548 (2007) 22: 60; pp. 275-284] ABSTRACT: In her book Abductive Reasoning Atocha Aliseda (2006) stresses the attention to the logical models of abduction, centering on the semantic tableaux as a method for extending and improving both the whole cognitive/philosophical view on it and on other more restricted logical approaches. I will provide further insight on two aspects. The first is re- lated to the importance of increasing logical knowledge on abduction: Aliseda clearly shows how the logical study on abduction in turn helps us to extend and modernize the classical and received idea of logic. The second refers to some ideas coming from the so-called distributed cognition and concerns the role of logical models as forms of cognitive exter- nalizations of preexistent in-formal human reasoning performances. The logical externalization in objective systems, communicable and sharable, is able to grant stable perspectives endowed with symbolic, abstract, and rigorous cogni- tive features. I will also emphasize that Aliseda especially stresses that this character of stability and objectivity of logical achievements are not usually present in models of abduction that are merely cognitive and epistemological, and of ex- treme importance from the computational point of view. Keywords: logic, abduction, distributed cognition. 1. Introduction In her book Abductive Reasoning Atocha Aliseda (2006) stresses the attention to the logical models of abduction, centering on the semantic tableaux as a method for ex- tending and improving both the whole cognitive/philosophical view on abduction and on other more restricted logical approaches.
    [Show full text]
  • Springer Handbook of Model-Based Science
    Springer Handbook of Model-Based Science Springer Handbooks provide a concise compilation of approved key information on methods of research, general principles, and functional relationships in physical and applied sciences. The world’s leading experts in the fields of physics and engineering will be as- signed by one or several renowned editors to write the chapters com- prising each volume. The content is selected by these experts from Springer sources (books, journals, online content) and other systematic and approved recent publications of scientific and technical information. The volumes are designed to be useful as readable desk reference book to give a fast and comprehen- sive overview and easy retrieval of essential reliable key information, including tables, graphs, and bibli- ographies. References to extensive sources are provided. HandbookSpringer of Model-Based Science Lorenzo Magnani, Tommaso Bertolotti (Eds.) With 263 Figures and 42 Tables HK Editors Lorenzo Magnani University of Pavia Department of Humanities Piazza Botta 6 Pavia 27100, Italy Tommaso Bertolotti University of Pavia Department of Humanities Piazza Botta 6 Pavia 27100, Italy ISBN: 978-3-319-30525-7 e-ISBN: 978-3-319-30526-4 DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-30526-4 Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg London New York Library of Congress Control Number: 2017935722 © Springer International Publishing AG 2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.
    [Show full text]
  • Publications | 1976-2018
    Wylie publications | November 2018 Alison Wylie | PUBLICATIONS | 1976-2018 Books Evidential Reasoning in Archaeology, co-authored with Robert Chapman, Bloomsbury Academic Publishing, London, 2016. http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/evidential-reasoning-in-archaeology-9781472528933/ Material Evidence: Learning from Archaeological Practice, co-edited with Robert Chapman, Routledge, London, 2015. http://material-evidence.net/ Value-Free Science? Ideals and Illusions, co-edited with Harold Kincaid and John Dupré, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2007. http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780195308969.do# Thinking from Things: Essays in the Philosophy of Archaeology, University of California Press, Berkeley CA, 2002. Ethics in American Archaeology: Challenges for the 1990s, co-edited with Mark J. Lynott, Society for American Archaeology Special Report Series, Washington D.C., 1995. 2nd revised edition, Ethics in American Archaeology, Society for American Archaeology, Washington D.C., 2000. Critical Traditions in Contemporary Archaeology: Essays in the Philosophy, History and Socio-Politics of Archaeology, co-edited with Valerie Pinsky, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1989. Reprinted in paperback by the University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque NM 1995. Breaking Anonymity: The Chilly Climate for Women Faculty, co-edited with members of the Chilly Collective, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, Waterloo Ontario, 1995. Equity Issues for Women in Archaeology, co-edited with Margaret C. Nelson and Sarah M. Nelson, Archaeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association, Number 5, Washington D.C., 1994. Journal Special Issues and Symposia Hypatia thematic clusters: Women in Philosophy: The Costs of Exclusion, and Epistemic Justice, Ignorance, and Procedural Objectivity (editor), Hypatia 26.2 (2011). Feminist Legacies / Feminist Futures, 25th Anniversary Special Issue of Hypatia, A Journal of Feminist Philosophy, co-edited with Lori Gruen, 25.4 (2010).
    [Show full text]
  • MBR09 Abstracts
    MBR09_BRAZIL Abstracts Book edited by Tommaso Bertolotti MODEL-BASED REASONING IN SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Atocha Aliseda, Instituto de Investigaciones Filosoficas, Universidad Na- cional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) Abduction, Logic, and Silvana Borutti, Department of Philosophy, University of Pavia, ITALY Eduardo Bustos, Department of Logic, History and Philosophy of Science at Computational Discovery UNED (Spanish Open University), Madrid, SPAIN Walter Carnielli, Department of Philosophy, Institute of Philosophy and Hu- man Sciences, State University of Campinas, BRAZIL WEB SITE Marcelo Esteban Coniglio, Department of Philosophy, Institute of Philosophy http://www.unipv.it/webphilos_lab/courses/progra4.html and Human Sciences, State University of Campinas, BRAZIL Roberto Cordeschi, Department of Philosophy, "La Sapienza" University of Rome, ITALY Itala D'Ottaviano, Department of Philosophy, Institute of Philosophy and Hu- PROGRAM CHAIRS man Sciences, State University of Campinas, BRAZIL Roberto Feltrero, Department of Logic, History and Philosophy of Science at UNED (Spanish Open University), Madrid, SPAIN Lorenzo MAGNANI Marcello Frixione, Department of Communication Sciences, University of Department of Philosophy, University of Pavia, Salerno, ITALY Piazza Botta 6, 27100 Pavia, Italy Michel Ghins, Institut Superieur de Philosophie, Université Catholique de Louvain, BELGIUM Office: +39 0382 986283, Fax: +39 0382 23215 David Gooding, Department of Psychology, University of Bath, UK Computational Philosophy Laboratory,
    [Show full text]
  • Lorenzo Magnani (Università Di Pavia)
    UNIVERSITA’ DI BOLOGNA DIPARTIMENTO DI FILOSOFIA E COMUNICAZIONE Centro International Internazionale Centre for the per la Storia History of delle università e universities della scienza and science CIS Ph.D. Programme in Science, Cognition and Technology Lorenzo Magnani (Università di Pavia) “Errare è umano, perseverare è … scientifico! ” Il modello di ragionamento abduttivo nel contesto della giustificazione epistemica Martedì, 11 Febbraio 2014, ore 9,00 Università di Bologna, Via Zamboni 34, Aula D Lo statuto dell’abduzione è molto controverso e presenta spesso fraintendimenti e ambiguità. Quali sono le differenze tra abduzione e induzione? E quali differenze esistono tra l’abduzione e il ben noto metodo ipotetico- deduttivo? Che cosa intendeva Peirce quando considerava l’abduzione sia come un tipo di inferenza che come un tipo di istinto oppure quando riteneva la percezione una modalità dell’abduzione? L’abduzione si occupa solamente della generazione di ipotesi oppure anche della loro verifica? L’abduzione preserva l’ignoranza, amplia la verità o entrambe? Quante tipologie di abduzione è possibile identificare? Infine: l’abduzione è una mera tipologia di inferenza esplicativa oppure implica altre modalità non-esplicative per la scoperta casuale di ipotesi? Lorenzo Magnani è professore ordinario di filosofia della scienza presso il Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Sezione di Filosofia, dell’Università degli Studi di Pavia. È fondatore e direttore, nello stesso dipartimento, del Laboratorio di Filosofia Computazionale. È inoltre visiting professor presso il Georgia Institute of Technology di Atlanta e la Sun Yat-sen University di Canton (R.P.C.) e Weissman Distinguished Visiting Professor presso la City University of New York; ha compiuto ricerche anche a Pittsburgh (Carnegie Mellon University), Montreal (McGill), Waterloo (Canada).
    [Show full text]
  • (Eds.) Wittgenstein and the Philosophy of Information
    Alois Pichler, Herbert Hrachovec (Eds.) Wittgenstein and the Philosophy of Information Publications of the Austrian Ludwig Wittgenstein Society. New Series Volume 6 Alois Pichler • Herbert Hrachovec (Eds.) Wittgenstein and the Philosophy of Information Proceedings of the 30. International Ludwig Wittgenstein Symposium Kirchberg am Wechsel, Austria 2007 Volume 1 Bibliographic information published by Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliographie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the Internet at http://dnb.ddb.de Gedruckt mit Förderung des Bundesministeriums für Wissenschaft und Forschung in Wien und der Kulturabteilung der NÖ Landesregierung North and South America by Transaction Books Rutgers University Piscataway, NJ 08854-8042 [email protected] United Kingdom, Ire, Iceland, Turkey, Malta, Portugal by Gazelle Books Services Limited White Cross Mills Hightown LANCASTER, LA1 4XS [email protected] Livraison pour la France et la Belgique: Librairie Philosophique J.Vrin 6, place de la Sorbonne ; F-75005 PARIS Tel. +33 (0)1 43 54 03 47 ; Fax +33 (0)1 43 54 48 18 www.vrin.fr 2008 ontos verlag P.O. Box 15 41, D-63133 Heusenstamm www.ontosverlag.com ISBN 978-3-86838-001-9 2008 No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in retrieval systems or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use of the purchaser of the work Printed on acid-free paper ISO-Norm 970-6 FSC-certified (Forest Stewardship Council) This hardcover binding meets the International Library standard Printed in Germany by buch bücher dd ag Table of Contents Preface Alois Pichler and Herbert Hrachovec .
    [Show full text]
  • APA Newsletters
    APA Newsletters Volume 04, Number 1 Fall 2004 NEWSLETTER ON PHILOSOPHY AND COMPUTERS FROM THE EDITOR, JON DORBOLO PROFILE BILL UZGALIS “A Conversation with Susan Stuart” ECAP REVIEWS SUSAN STUART “Review of the European Conference for Computing and Philosophy, 2004” MARCELLO GUARINI “Review of the European Conference for Computing and Philosophy, 2004” PROGRAM Computing and Philosophy, University of Pavia, Italy 2004 ARTICLE JON DORBOLO “Getting Outside of the Margins” © 2004 by The American Philosophical Association ISSN: 1067-9464 APA NEWSLETTER ON Philosophy and Computers Jon Dorbolo, Editor Fall 2004 Volume 04, Number 1 Philosophy, the Barwise Prize is awarded for significant and ROM THE DITOR sustained contributions to areas relevant to the philosophical F E study of computing and information. To commemorate this award, Minds and Machines and Editorial Board the APA Newsletter on Computing and Philosophy will collaborate to publish two special issues regarding “Daniel Jon Dorbolo, Editor Dennett and the Computational Turn.” The Fall Spring 2005 4140 The Valley Library APA Newsletter on Computers and Philosophy issue (Guest Oregon State University Editor: Ron Barnette) and a special issue of Minds and Machines Corvallis OR 97331-4502 in Fall 2005 (Guest Editor: Jon Dorbolo) will present this work. Submissions made in response to this call will be considered [email protected] for both publications, and authors will be consulted on the Phone: 541.737.3811 outcomes of the review process, with regard to which publication is suitable.
    [Show full text]
  • UC Merced Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society
    UC Merced Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society Title Generating Explanatory Hypotheses: Mind, Computer, Brain, and World Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/34b549qp Journal Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, 27(27) ISSN 1069-7977 Author Lanyon, Susan J. Publication Date 2005 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Generating Explanatory Hypotheses: Mind, Computer, Brain, and World Paul Thagard ([email protected]) Department of Philosophy, University of Waterloo Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1 Canada Introduction Lorenzo Magnani, University of Pavia, Italy When puzzling events occur, people naturally generate Reasoning through Doing: Epistemic Mediators in hypotheses to explain them. This kind of thinking occurs in Explanatory Hypothesis Generation in Science many domains, including: • Science, where researchers generate theories to I maintain that the philosophical analysis of model-based explain data; and manipulative abduction and of the cognitive activity of external representations and epistemic mediators is • Medicine, where physicians generate diagnoses to explain patients’ symptoms; important in understanding explanatory hypothesis generation in science. This talk will discuss how concrete • Criminal investigation, where detectives form manipulations of the external world constitute a hypotheses to explain evidence from crime scenes; fundamental passage in scientific discovery and explanation. • Machinery repair,
    [Show full text]
  • Acknowledgements This Work Was Supported by a China Scholarship Council/University of Edinburgh Scholarship
    International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 105 Acknowledgements This work was supported by a China Scholarship Council/University of Edinburgh Scholarship. I would like to thank Duncan Prichard, Mikkel Gerken, and Davide Fassio for their helpful comments on earlier drafts. References Buckwalter, W., and J. Schaffer. 2015. “Knowledge, Stakes, and Mistakes.” Nouˆs 49: 201–234. DeRose, K. 2009. The Case for Contextualism. New York: Oxford University Press. DeRose, K. 2011. “Contextualism, Contrastivism, and X-Phi Surveys.” Philosophical Studies 156: 81–110. Gerken, M. 2012. “On the Cognitive Bases of Knowledge Ascriptions.” In Knowledge Ascriptions, edited by J. Brown and M. Gerken, 140–170. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Gerken, M. 2013. “Epistemic Focal Bias.” Australasian Journal of Philosophy 91: 41–61. Hawthorne, J. 2004. Knowledge and Lotteries. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Nagel, J. 2010. “Knowledge Ascriptions and the Psychological Consequences of Thinking About Error.” Philosophical Quarterly 60: 286–306. Pinillos, A. 2012. “Knowledge, Experiments, and Practical Interests.” In Knowledge Ascriptions, edited by J. Brown and M. Gerken, 193–220. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Rysiew, P. 2001. “The Context-sensitivity of Knowledge Attributions.” Nouˆs 35: 477–514. Sripada, C. S., and J. Stanley. 2012. “Empirical Testsof Interest-relative Invariantism.” Episteme 9: 3–26. Turri, J. 2015. “Skeptical Appeal: The Source-content Bias.” Cognitive Science 39: 307–324. JIE GAO School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences University of Edinburgh # 2015, Jie Gao http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02698595.2015.1071554 Model-based Reasoning in Science and Technology: Theoretical and Cognitive Issues LORENZO MAGNANI (Ed.) Berlin, Springer, 2014 viii + 639 pp., ISBN 9783642374272, E263.94 (hardcover); ISBN 9783642374289, E208.24 (e-book) Models are simplified representations or descriptions of systems, which aim to capture characteristics that are considered fruitful for further study of those systems.
    [Show full text]