Math is an instrument of deduction. Deductive reasoning proceeds logically from a stipulated starting point, e.g., axioms, postulates, using deductive logic or mathematics.
Abduction involves constructing conceptual or mathematical models based on what is given. To simplify, abduction begins as a "word problem" involving observation and conceptual understanding. From this a model as a candidate for providing best explanation is developed and then tested against that which is being modeled.
Abduction stand in contrast to the intuitive approach to stipulating axioms as the basis for a deductive system. Conventional economics based on assuming equilibrium and maximization is intuitively based rather than abductive.
Induction is reasoning based on observation of particulars and assuming that the past resembles the future, eg., path dependence, hysteresis ergodicity. Abduction may employ induction, usually thought of in terms of probability and statistics.
Lars P. Syll’s Blog
Abduction — the induction that constitutes the essence of scientific reasoning
Lars P. Syll | Professor, Malmo University
Abduction — the induction that constitutes the essence of scientific reasoning
Lars P. Syll | Professor, Malmo University
