Interpreter and Interpretant • Selection 8
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https://inquiryintoinquiry.com/2025/01/24/interpreter-and-interpretant-sele…
Transfer —
What exactly gives the acquisition of a knowledge base
its distinctively inductive character? It is evidently
the “analogy of experience” involved in applying what
we've learned in the past to what confronts us in
the present.
Whenever we find ourselves approaching a problem with the thought,
“If past experience is any guide …” we can be sure the analogy of
experience has come into play. We are seeking to find analogies
between past experience as a totality and present experience as
a point of application.
From a statistical point of view what we mean is this — “If past experience is
a fair sample of possible experience then knowledge gained from past experience
may usefully apply to present experience”. It is that mechanism which allows a
knowledge base to be carried across gulfs of experience which remain indifferent
to the effective contents of its rules.
Next we'll examine how the transfer of knowledge through the analogy
of experience works out in the case of 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 Abduction, Deduction, Induction, Analogy, Inquiry
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https://inquiryintoinquiry.com/2024/02/27/survey-of-abduction-deduction-ind…
Survey of Semiotics, Semiosis, Sign Relations
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https://inquiryintoinquiry.com/2024/01/26/survey-of-semiotics-semiosis-sign…
Regards,
Jon