Analysis of the concept of abduction in the process of creativity

• Grant number: 13/09399-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: September 01, 2013
• End date: December 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Philosophy - Epistemology
• Principal Investigator: Maria Eunice Quilici Gonzalez
• Grantee: Mariana Vitti Rodrigues
• Supervisor: Daniel G. Campos
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia e Ciências (FFC). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Marília. Marília , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: City University of New York, New York (CUNY), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 11/15591-9 - Information and Abduction in the process of Scientific Discovery, BP.MS

Abstract

The aim of this work, undertaken as part of a Master´s degree research project entitled "Information and Abduction in the Process of Scientific Discovery", is to deepen analysis of the concept of abduction. We will analyze the structure of abductive reasoning and its interdependence with inductive and deductive reasoning, explaining the heuristic exclusivity of abduction. Two central questions will guide this research: (1) what is the role played by abduction in creative processes? And (2) what are the steps that characterize the abductive process triggered by the perception of a surprising fact? Analysis of these questions will be used in an approach that uses as a starting point the concept of abduction proposed by C. S. Peirce, assisted by the work of other contemporary authors that study this theme. Finally, we will consider the role played by abduction in creative processes in the context of philosophical and scientific reflection. (AU)