Peirce’s Theory of Abduction: Logic, Methodology, and Instinct

Reflections on Peirce’s theory of abduction have not been free of controversy, given the difficulty to determine clearly the nature and epistemic function of this inference. The article examines three ways of understanding the concept of abduction, developed by Peirce himself throughout his work. The main objective is to reconstruct the logical, methodological, and instinctive conception of this type of reasoning in order to establish the possibility of a theory of abduction.