Retroduction

On the subject of Planting, Mr. M. is of opinion that 'the offering premiums for the general increase of wood is going retrograde, or constributing towards a retroduction of uncultivated nature; instead of which, this country ought to be in a state of garden-like cultivation.

Touching the free introduction and retroduction of incomplete manufactures to be finished, or advanced, and then returned, a trade which has been very profitable to Germany.

Therefore we demand a speedy retroduction of our imprisoned king to sit personally in the House of Peers, that the supreme court of the kingdom may not be any longer...called a master without a head.

Whereas retroduction involves one step, and deduction involves two, induction, as the third stage, involves three: classification, probationary argument, and appraisal of the probations.

Note that deduction and retroduction employ the same form of logical statement to determine either the post- or precondition, respectively.

What distinguishes retroduction from the other two main forms of inference employed in inquiry into nature, deduction and induction (inductive generalization), is its reliance on explanatory quality for its epistemic force (McMullin 1992).

This is the big advantage of retroduction; it is difficult the first time it is attempted, but with a little experience, you can select the designs more and more quickly. Most good designers perform retroduction without realizing it.

Elsewhere (Chiasson, 2005), I demonstrate that abduction can be considered an aspect of retroduction rather than as a synonym for it.