Interpreter and Interpretant • Selection 6
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https://inquiryintoinquiry.com/2025/01/13/interpreter-and-interpretant-sele…
Inquiry and Induction —
To understand the bearing of inductive reasoning on the closing phases
of inquiry there are a couple of observations we should make.
• Smaller inquiries are typically woven into larger inquiries,
whether the whole pattern of inquiry is carried on by a single
agent or by a complex community.
• There are several ways particular instances of inquiry are related
to ongoing inquiries at larger scales. Three modes of interaction
between component inquiries and compound inquiries may be described
under the headings of Learning, Transfer, and Testing of Rules.
Throughout the course of inquiry the reasoner makes use of rules
which have to be transported across intervals of experience, from
masses of experience where they are learned to moments of experience
where they are applied. Inductive reasoning is involved in the learning
and transfer of those rules, both in accumulating a knowledge base and
in carrying it through the times between acquisition and application.
• Learning
The main way induction contributes to an ongoing inquiry is
through the learning of rules, that is, by creating each rule
added to a knowledge base, or any rule used along the way.
• Transfer
The next way induction contributes to an ongoing inquiry is
through the operation of analogy, a two‑step combination of
induction and deduction which serves to transfer rules from
one context to another.
• Testing
Finally, every inquiry making use of a knowledge base amounts
to a “field test” of its rules. If the knowledge base fails to
serve any live inquiry in a satisfactory way then there is reason
to reconsider and possibly amend its rules.
Next time we'll examine how the principles of learning, transfer,
and testing apply to Dewey's “Sign of Rain” example.
References —
Awbrey, J.L., and Awbrey, S.M. (1995), “Interpretation as Action : The Risk
of Inquiry”, Inquiry : Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines 15(1), 40–52.
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https://www.pdcnet.org/inquiryct/content/inquiryct_1995_0015_0001_0040_0052
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https://www.academia.edu/57812482/Interpretation_as_Action_The_Risk_of_Inqu…
Dewey, J. (1910), How We Think, D.C. Heath, Boston, MA.
Reprinted (1991), Prometheus Books, Buffalo, NY.
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https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37423/37423-h/37423-h.htm
Resources —
Survey of Inquiry Driven Systems
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https://inquiryintoinquiry.com/2024/02/28/survey-of-inquiry-driven-systems-…
Survey of Semiotics, Semiosis, Sign Relations
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https://inquiryintoinquiry.com/2024/01/26/survey-of-semiotics-semiosis-sign…
Regards,
Jon