Creativity and Discovery in Science
Jurian Traas
FW-TF2012
2022 – 2023
,Table of Contents
LECTURE I – WHEWELL'S HAPPY THOUGHT..................................................................................................... 2
WHEWELL'S HAPPY THOUGHT...................................................................................................................................2
THE STATUES OF DAEDALUS......................................................................................................................................2
PEIRCE'S ABDUCTION...............................................................................................................................................2
BODEN'S CREATIVITY...............................................................................................................................................3
THE FLYING PROFESSOR........................................................................................................................................... 3
LECTURE II – ABDUCTION AND ITS PROBLEMS................................................................................................3
GINZBURG’S TRIPLE ANALOGY...................................................................................................................................3
DOWNSIDES OF ABDUCTION.....................................................................................................................................4
LECTURE III – BACK TO THE SCHOOL OF ATHENS............................................................................................. 5
TWO OPPOSING HAND GESTURES...............................................................................................................................5
PLATO – MENO’S PARADOX.....................................................................................................................................6
ARISTOTLE – DEMONSTRATIVE KNOWLEDGE.................................................................................................................6
EMPIRICISM’S PROBLEM...........................................................................................................................................7
REALISTS AND ANTI-REALISTS....................................................................................................................................7
MACH’S SENSATIONALISM........................................................................................................................................7
LECTURE IV – FRIENDS OF JUSTIFICATION....................................................................................................... 8
THE CONTEXT DISTINCTION.......................................................................................................................................8
VERIFICATION THEORY OF MEANING...........................................................................................................................9
BURYING THE UNDERTAKERS.....................................................................................................................................9
QUINE’S TWO DOGMAS.........................................................................................................................................10
LECTURE V – THE SOUL OF SCIENCE.............................................................................................................. 11
POPPER’S CRITICAL RATIONALISM.............................................................................................................................11
KUHN’S PARADIGM SHIFT.......................................................................................................................................11
LECTURE VI – HARVEY’S REVOLUTION.......................................................................................................... 12
THREE THEORIES OF HUMOR...................................................................................................................................12
HARVEY’S QUANTITATIVE PROBLEM..........................................................................................................................12
HARVEY’S THOUGHT EXPERIMENT............................................................................................................................13
LECTURE VII – FOR AND AGAINST METHOD.................................................................................................. 13
FOR METHOD.......................................................................................................................................................13
A THIRD CONTEXT.................................................................................................................................................14
AGAINST METHOD................................................................................................................................................14
LECTURE VIII – RECENT PHILOSOPHY OF DISCOVERY.....................................................................................15
NICKELS’ CONCEPTION OF PROBLEMS........................................................................................................................15
SCHURZ’S MODES OF ABDUCTION............................................................................................................................16
HESSE................................................................................................................................................................17
PEIRCE’S ABDUCTION IN ASKING QUESTIONS..............................................................................................................17
NERSESSIAN........................................................................................................................................................ 17
1
Notes by Jurian Traas – Creativity and Discovery in Science
, Lecture I – Whewell's happy thought
In 1985, Hanson stated that retroductive inference (abduction), is the special logic of
discovery. However, the examples that Hanson has in mind, are examples of the restricted
conception of abduction as inference to the best explanation (wet grass → rain), instead of
Peirce’s much broader conception of abduction as inference to any explanation. What
inference to the best explanation fails to capture though, are the creative aspects of concept
formation and hypothesis formation or, in other words, it fails to capture what Eco and
Magnani have called creative abduction.
Creative thinking and critical thinking are therefore intertwined: they even constitute a
trinity with the third skill of 21st learning skills: problem solving. There cannot be creative
thinking without the context of a problem to be solved because that context determines
which ideas are relevant.
Whewell's happy thought
This concept entails an unplanned, fortunate discovery: the Eureka moment in science.
Examples can be found in history (e.g., Fleming's penicillin). The suggestion may be that all
discoveries are ultimately cases of serendipity: one needs luck. Moreover, Popper states
that there is no logic behind scientific discovery. Whewell argues that the happy thought
cannot be analyzed: the real creative part of scientific discovery (the hypothesis formation).
There cannot be rules that inevitably lead to discovery.
This course assumes that serendipity is not the main driver of scientific breakthroughs.
These are examples of approaches that state that it is impossible to give an answer to the
question 'what is the eureka moment in a discovery process'. This is however in conflict with
general ideas about knowledge.
The statues of Daedalus
In Meno, Socrates asks Meno 'what is the value of knowledge, relative to that of mere true
belief?' The answer here is that mere true belief is like the statues of Daedalus: they are so
remarkably in correspondence with the people that are portrayed by these statues, that
they actually are alive and can run away. Mere true belief is like these statues in that if one
does not question them, they will run away. Knowledge is the equivalent of tethered
statues. In contemporary terms, justified beliefs are beliefs that have been acquired by
reliable methods (following rules) that are known to be truth conducive: producing more
truths than falsehoods.
Here, we see on the one hand the idea of creativity stating that there cannot be rules, and
on the other hand we ask for science to be truth conducive as much as
possible. The main question then becomes, how does one merge these
ideas as closely as possible?
Peirce's abduction
According to Peirce, inquiry and investigation is to be preferred above
the quick fixes above. This is because if an inquiry has been carried out
fully according to scientific methods, then the scientists can come to a
consensus. This is the closest we as human beings can get to truth. The
main contribution Peirce has to the study of investigation is the notion
2
Notes by Jurian Traas – Creativity and Discovery in Science
Jurian Traas
FW-TF2012
2022 – 2023
,Table of Contents
LECTURE I – WHEWELL'S HAPPY THOUGHT..................................................................................................... 2
WHEWELL'S HAPPY THOUGHT...................................................................................................................................2
THE STATUES OF DAEDALUS......................................................................................................................................2
PEIRCE'S ABDUCTION...............................................................................................................................................2
BODEN'S CREATIVITY...............................................................................................................................................3
THE FLYING PROFESSOR........................................................................................................................................... 3
LECTURE II – ABDUCTION AND ITS PROBLEMS................................................................................................3
GINZBURG’S TRIPLE ANALOGY...................................................................................................................................3
DOWNSIDES OF ABDUCTION.....................................................................................................................................4
LECTURE III – BACK TO THE SCHOOL OF ATHENS............................................................................................. 5
TWO OPPOSING HAND GESTURES...............................................................................................................................5
PLATO – MENO’S PARADOX.....................................................................................................................................6
ARISTOTLE – DEMONSTRATIVE KNOWLEDGE.................................................................................................................6
EMPIRICISM’S PROBLEM...........................................................................................................................................7
REALISTS AND ANTI-REALISTS....................................................................................................................................7
MACH’S SENSATIONALISM........................................................................................................................................7
LECTURE IV – FRIENDS OF JUSTIFICATION....................................................................................................... 8
THE CONTEXT DISTINCTION.......................................................................................................................................8
VERIFICATION THEORY OF MEANING...........................................................................................................................9
BURYING THE UNDERTAKERS.....................................................................................................................................9
QUINE’S TWO DOGMAS.........................................................................................................................................10
LECTURE V – THE SOUL OF SCIENCE.............................................................................................................. 11
POPPER’S CRITICAL RATIONALISM.............................................................................................................................11
KUHN’S PARADIGM SHIFT.......................................................................................................................................11
LECTURE VI – HARVEY’S REVOLUTION.......................................................................................................... 12
THREE THEORIES OF HUMOR...................................................................................................................................12
HARVEY’S QUANTITATIVE PROBLEM..........................................................................................................................12
HARVEY’S THOUGHT EXPERIMENT............................................................................................................................13
LECTURE VII – FOR AND AGAINST METHOD.................................................................................................. 13
FOR METHOD.......................................................................................................................................................13
A THIRD CONTEXT.................................................................................................................................................14
AGAINST METHOD................................................................................................................................................14
LECTURE VIII – RECENT PHILOSOPHY OF DISCOVERY.....................................................................................15
NICKELS’ CONCEPTION OF PROBLEMS........................................................................................................................15
SCHURZ’S MODES OF ABDUCTION............................................................................................................................16
HESSE................................................................................................................................................................17
PEIRCE’S ABDUCTION IN ASKING QUESTIONS..............................................................................................................17
NERSESSIAN........................................................................................................................................................ 17
1
Notes by Jurian Traas – Creativity and Discovery in Science
, Lecture I – Whewell's happy thought
In 1985, Hanson stated that retroductive inference (abduction), is the special logic of
discovery. However, the examples that Hanson has in mind, are examples of the restricted
conception of abduction as inference to the best explanation (wet grass → rain), instead of
Peirce’s much broader conception of abduction as inference to any explanation. What
inference to the best explanation fails to capture though, are the creative aspects of concept
formation and hypothesis formation or, in other words, it fails to capture what Eco and
Magnani have called creative abduction.
Creative thinking and critical thinking are therefore intertwined: they even constitute a
trinity with the third skill of 21st learning skills: problem solving. There cannot be creative
thinking without the context of a problem to be solved because that context determines
which ideas are relevant.
Whewell's happy thought
This concept entails an unplanned, fortunate discovery: the Eureka moment in science.
Examples can be found in history (e.g., Fleming's penicillin). The suggestion may be that all
discoveries are ultimately cases of serendipity: one needs luck. Moreover, Popper states
that there is no logic behind scientific discovery. Whewell argues that the happy thought
cannot be analyzed: the real creative part of scientific discovery (the hypothesis formation).
There cannot be rules that inevitably lead to discovery.
This course assumes that serendipity is not the main driver of scientific breakthroughs.
These are examples of approaches that state that it is impossible to give an answer to the
question 'what is the eureka moment in a discovery process'. This is however in conflict with
general ideas about knowledge.
The statues of Daedalus
In Meno, Socrates asks Meno 'what is the value of knowledge, relative to that of mere true
belief?' The answer here is that mere true belief is like the statues of Daedalus: they are so
remarkably in correspondence with the people that are portrayed by these statues, that
they actually are alive and can run away. Mere true belief is like these statues in that if one
does not question them, they will run away. Knowledge is the equivalent of tethered
statues. In contemporary terms, justified beliefs are beliefs that have been acquired by
reliable methods (following rules) that are known to be truth conducive: producing more
truths than falsehoods.
Here, we see on the one hand the idea of creativity stating that there cannot be rules, and
on the other hand we ask for science to be truth conducive as much as
possible. The main question then becomes, how does one merge these
ideas as closely as possible?
Peirce's abduction
According to Peirce, inquiry and investigation is to be preferred above
the quick fixes above. This is because if an inquiry has been carried out
fully according to scientific methods, then the scientists can come to a
consensus. This is the closest we as human beings can get to truth. The
main contribution Peirce has to the study of investigation is the notion
2
Notes by Jurian Traas – Creativity and Discovery in Science
