实质归纳逻辑视野中的类比推理

New Progress in Analogical Inference: The Theory of Material Analogy

我们可以将类比推理的研究进路粗略地分为两类,一类是形式的,一类是实质的。类比的形式进路是目前占主导的研究范式,但这条研究进路存在一定的问题。诺顿提出了一种实质归纳理论,该理论拒斥具有普遍模式的归纳规则。在实质归纳理论中,归纳推理的有效性源自实质事实,将以往纯粹归纳理论对归纳模式的辩护转换为对实质事实的辩护。当我们将实质归纳理论的理念推广至类比推理,就得到了一种新的类比理论:实质类比理论。在实质类比理论中,有两个关键概念:第一个概念是类比事实,第二个概念是类比事实保证类比推理。从哲学文献与科学文献的对比分析可以看出,相较形式进路,实质进路对于理解类比推理而言,可能是更好的方法。

We can roughly divide the research of analogical reasoning into two categories,oneis formal and the other is material.The formal analogy approach is currently the dominantresearch paradigm, but there are certain problems with this research approach. Nortonproposed a theory of material induction that rejects inductive rules with universal rules.In the theory of material induction, the validity of inductive reasoning stems from thematerial facts, and the previous formal inductive theory’s defense of the inductive modelis transformed into the defense of the material facts. When we apply the idea of the theoryof material induction to analogical reasoning, we get a new analogy theory: the theory ofmaterial analogy. There are two key concepts in the theory of material analogy. The firstconcept is the analogy of facts, and the second is the analogy of facts to warrant analogy.From the comparison between the philosophical literature and the scientific literature, itcan be seen that the material approach may be a better approach to understanding analogicalreasoning than the formal approach.