Open AccessAn argumentative approach on abduction and on the weighing of explanatory hypotheses
Author(s) -
Paula Olmos
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
theoria
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.2
H-Index - 15
eISSN - 2171-679X
pISSN - 0495-4548
DOI - 10.1387/theoria.18292
Subject(s) - argumentative , conceptualization , argumentation theory , inference , epistemology , abductive reasoning , explanatory model , computer science , psychology , artificial intelligence , philosophy
This paper makes use of the concepts and theoretical framework developed within the field of Argumentation Theory to account for the structure and characteristics of abduction and of the comparative processes of weighing explanatory hypothesis. It elaborates an analysis of abduction based on its consideration as a meta-explanatory argumentation scheme while elucidating its relations with abductive reasoning and inference. The conceptualization of comparative processes of weighing explanatory hypothesis as complex and varied argumentative structures is presented as an alternative to the idea of “inference to the best explanation”.