Titel / Title: Models of Abductive Reasoning
Gerhard Schurz, Tpd Preprints · 2002
abstract system-theoretic sense. In this way, the abstract model of a central force system arises, with a central body , peripherical bod-ies , a central force , etc. (160f). Since finding an abductive analogy consists in find-ing the theoretically essential features of the source structure which can be general-ized to other domains, it goes hand-in-hand with forming the corresponding concep-tual abstraction. For example, the analogical transfer of water-waves to sound.-waves makes only sense if the theoretically essential features of (water-) waves have been identified, namely, that waves are produced by coupled oscillators . The abductive conjecture of sound-waves then says that also sound should consist of coupled oscil-lations. Immediately, this gives rise to the further question in what the medium of coupled sound oscillators materially consists. The abductive conjecture says: the me-dium is here the air, the air molecules are moving back and forth, thereby bouncing against each other.