Interpreter and Interpretant • Selection 10.1
• https://inquiryintoinquiry.com/2025/02/11/interpreter-and-interpretant-selection-10-a/
• https://bsky.app/profile/inquiryintoinquiry.bsky.social/post/3lhyet3gfzk2c

Transfer —

Returning to the scene of Dewey's “Sign of Rain” example, let's continue examining how the transfer of knowledge through the analogy of experience works in that case.

By way of a recap, we began by considering a fragment K_pres of the reasoner's knowledge base which is logically equivalent to a conjunction of two rules.

• K_pres ⇔ (B ⇒ A) ∧ (B ⇒ D).

K_pres may be thought of as a piece of knowledge or item of information allowing for the possibility of certain conditions, expressed in the form of a logical constraint on the present universe of discourse.

Next we found it convenient to express all logical statements in terms of their models, that is, in terms of the primitive circumstances or elements of experience over which they hold true.

• Let E_past be the chosen set of experiences, or the circumstances in mind under “past experience”.

• Let E_poss be the collective set of experiences, or the prospective total of possible circumstances.

• Let E_pres be the current experience, or the circumstances immediately present to the reasoner.

If we think of the knowledge base K_pres as referring to the “regime of experience” over which it is valid, then the sets of models involved in the analogy may be ordered according to the relationships of set inclusion or logical implication existing among them.

Figure 4 shows the subsumption relations involved in the analogy of experience.

Figure 4. Analogy of Experience
• https://inquiryintoinquiry.files.wordpress.com/2025/02/analogy-of-experience.png

#Peirce #Logic #Semiotics #Semiosis #SignRelations
#JohnDewey #Interpreter #Interpretant #Pragmatism
#Abduction #Deduction #Induction #Analogy #Inquiry

Interpreter and Interpretant • Selection 9.1
• https://inquiryintoinquiry.com/2025/01/27/interpreter-and-interpretant-selection-9-a/

Transfer —

Let's examine how the transfer of knowledge through the analogy of experience works in the case of Dewey's “Sign of Rain” example.

For concreteness, consider a fragment K_pres of the reasoner's knowledge base which is logically equivalent to a conjunction of two rules.

• K_pres ⇔ (B ⇒ A) ∧ (B ⇒ D).

K_pres may be thought of as a piece of knowledge or item of information allowing for the possibility of certain conditions, expressed in the form of a logical constraint on the present universe of discourse.

It is convenient to have the option of expressing all logical statements in terms of their models, that is, in terms of the primitive circumstances or elements of experience over which they hold true.

• Let E_past be the chosen set of experiences, or the circumstances in mind under “past experience”.

• Let E_poss be the collective set of experiences, or the prospective total of possible circumstances.

• Let E_pres be the current experience, or the circumstances immediately present to the reasoner.

If we think of the knowledge base K_pres as referring to the “regime of experience” over which it is valid, then the sets of models involved in the analogy may be ordered according to the relationships of set inclusion or logical implication existing among them.

#Peirce #Logic #Semiotics #Semiosis #SignRelations
#JohnDewey #Interpreter #Interpretant #Pragmatism
#Abduction #Deduction #Induction #Analogy #Inquiry

Interpreter and Interpretant • Selection 8
• https://inquiryintoinquiry.com/2025/01/24/interpreter-and-interpretant-selection-8-a/

Transfer —

What exactly gives the acquisition of a knowledge base its distinctively inductive character? It is evidently the “analogy of experience” involved in applying what we've learned in the past to what confronts us in the present.

Whenever we find ourselves approaching a problem with the thought, “If past experience is any guide …” we can be sure the analogy of experience has come into play. We are seeking to find analogies between past experience as a totality and present experience as a point of application.

From a statistical point of view what we mean is this — “If past experience is a fair sample of possible experience then knowledge gained from past experience may usefully apply to present experience”. It is that mechanism which allows a knowledge base to be carried across gulfs of experience which remain indifferent to the effective contents of its rules.

Next we'll examine how the transfer of knowledge through the analogy of experience works out in the case of Dewey's “Sign of Rain” example.

References —

Awbrey, J.L., and Awbrey, S.M. (1995), “Interpretation as Action : The Risk of Inquiry”, Inquiry : Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines 15(1), 40–52.
• https://www.pdcnet.org/inquiryct/content/inquiryct_1995_0015_0001_0040_0052
• https://www.academia.edu/57812482/Interpretation_as_Action_The_Risk_of_Inquiry

Dewey, J. (1910), How We Think, D.C. Heath, Boston, MA. Reprinted (1991), Prometheus Books, Buffalo, NY.
• https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37423/37423-h/37423-h.htm

#Peirce #Logic #Semiotics #Semiosis #SignRelations
#JohnDewey #Interpreter #Interpretant #Pragmatism
#Abduction #Deduction #Induction #Analogy #Inquiry

Interpreter and Interpretant • Selection 7
• https://inquiryintoinquiry.com/2025/01/15/interpreter-and-interpretant-selection-7-a/

Learning —

Rules in a knowledge base, as far as their effective content goes, can be obtained by any mode of inference. For example, consider a proposition of the following form.

• B ⇒ A, Just Before it rains, the Air is cool.

Such a proposition is usually induced from a consideration of many past events. The inductive inference may be observed to fit the following pattern.

• Case : C ⇒ B, In Certain events, it is just Before it rains.
• Fact : C ⇒ A, In Certain events, the Air is cool.
────────────────────────────────────
• Rule : B ⇒ A, Just Before it rains, the Air is cool.

However, the same proposition could also be abduced as an explanation of a singular occurrence or deduced as a conclusion of a prior theory.

References —

Awbrey, J.L., and Awbrey, S.M. (1995), “Interpretation as Action : The Risk of Inquiry”, Inquiry : Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines 15(1), 40–52.
• https://www.pdcnet.org/inquiryct/content/inquiryct_1995_0015_0001_0040_0052
• https://www.academia.edu/57812482/Interpretation_as_Action_The_Risk_of_Inquiry

Dewey, J. (1910), How We Think, D.C. Heath, Boston, MA. Reprinted (1991), Prometheus Books, Buffalo, NY.
• https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37423/37423-h/37423-h.htm

Resources —

Survey of Abduction, Deduction, Induction, Analogy, Inquiry
• https://inquiryintoinquiry.com/2024/02/27/survey-of-abduction-deduction-induction-analogy-inquiry-4/

Survey of Semiotics, Semiosis, Sign Relations
• https://inquiryintoinquiry.com/2024/01/26/survey-of-semiotics-semiosis-sign-relations-5/

#Peirce #Logic #Semiotics #SignRelations #TriadicRelations
#Interpretation #Interpreter #Interpretant #Hermeneutics
#JohnDewey #Inquiry #Abduction #Deduction #Induction
#Abstraction #HypostaticAbstraction #Reflection

Interpreter and Interpretant • Selection 6
• https://inquiryintoinquiry.com/2025/01/13/interpreter-and-interpretant-selection-6-a/

Inquiry and Induction —

To understand the bearing of inductive reasoning on the closing phases of inquiry there are a couple of observations we should make.

• Smaller inquiries are typically woven into larger inquiries, whether the whole pattern of inquiry is carried on by a single agent or by a complex community.

• There are several ways particular instances of inquiry are related to ongoing inquiries at larger scales. Three modes of interaction between component inquiries and compound inquiries may be described under the headings of Learning, Transfer, and Testing of Rules.

#Peirce #Logic #Semiotics #SignRelations #TriadicRelations
#Interpretation #Interpreter #Interpretant #Hermeneutics
#JohnDewey #Inquiry #Abduction #Deduction #Induction
#Abstraction #HypostaticAbstraction #Reflection

Interpreter and Interpretant • Selection 5
• https://inquiryintoinquiry.com/2025/01/11/interpreter-and-interpretant-selection-5-a/

Inquiry and Inference —

If we follow Dewey's “Sign of Rain” story far enough to consider the import of thought for action, we realize the subsequent conduct of the interpreter, progressing up through the natural conclusion of the episode — the quickening steps, the seeking of shelter in time to escape the rain — all those acts amount to a series of further interpretants for the initially recognized signs of rain and the first impressions of the actual case. Just as critical reflection develops the positive and negative signs which gather about an idea, pragmatic interpretation explores the consequential and contrasting actions which give effective and testable meaning to a person's belief in it.

#Peirce #Logic #Semiotics #SignRelations #TriadicRelations
#Interpretation #Interpreter #Interpretant #Hermeneutics
#JohnDewey #Inquiry #Abduction #Deduction #Induction
#Abstraction #HypostaticAbstraction #Reflection

Interpreter and Interpretant • Selection 4
• https://inquiryintoinquiry.com/2025/01/09/interpreter-and-interpretant-selection-4-a/

Interpretation and Inquiry —

To illustrate the role of sign relations in inquiry we begin with Dewey's elegant and simple example of reflective thinking in everyday life.

❝A man is walking on a warm day. The sky was clear the last time he observed it; but presently he notes, while occupied primarily with other things, that the air is cooler. It occurs to him that it is probably going to rain; looking up, he sees a dark cloud between him and the sun, and he then quickens his steps. What, if anything, in such a situation can be called thought? Neither the act of walking nor the noting of the cold is a thought. Walking is one direction of activity; looking and noting are other modes of activity. The likelihood that it will rain is, however, something suggested. The pedestrian feels the cold; he thinks of clouds and a coming shower.❞ (John Dewey, How We Think, 6–7).

#Peirce #Logic #Semiotics #Semiosis #SignRelations #TriadicRelations
#Cybersemiotics #Interpreter #Interpretant #Hermeneutics #Hermenaut
#JohnDewey #HowWeThink #Inquiry #Abduction #Deduction #Induction
#Abstraction #HypostaticAbstraction #Reflection #Interpretation