Abducing Abduction

Name: Abducing Abduction
Price: 523.99 AUD
Availability: PreOrder

Novel Perspectives on Peircean Abduction and Their Consequences For Contemporary Debates

By: Douglas Nino

Write A Review

Hardcover | 4 September 2026

At a Glance

Format
Hardcover

Dimensions(cm)
23.5 x 15.5

Hardcover

$523.99

or 4 interest-free payments of $131.00 with

or

Available: 4th September 2026

Preorder. Will ship when available.

This book offers the first comprehensive and systematic study of Charles Peirce's theory of abduction, tracing its evolution across five distinct periods from 1864 to 1914. It reconstructs Peirce's shifting treatment of hypothesis—from its early separation from induction, to its redefinition as an "induction of characters," its association with Aristotle's apagoge, and its eventual reformulation as "retroduction." Bridging historical scholarship and logical analysis, it clarifies abduction's justification, validity, and its formal, epistemic, and methodological characteristics that distinguish it from Peircean induction and deduction, while also analyzing the place of pragmatism within these inferential forms. It further examines how Peirce's ideas have been interpreted and adapted in contemporary debates in philosophy of science, logic, and cognitive science, including inference to the best explanation, artificial intelligence, practical logic, and eco-cognitive approaches. The concluding chapter introduces the Agentive Semiotics framework, showing how Peirce's insights illuminate abduction as a dynamic, agent-driven process for restoring cognitive manageability when the available and activated information becomes disrupted.

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $79.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.