Abstract
New computer systems of discovery create a research program for logic and philosophy of science. These systems consist of inference rules and control knowledge that guide the discovery process. Their paths of discovery are influenced by the available data and the discovery steps coincide with the justification of results. The discovery process can be described in terms of fundamental concepts of artificial intelligence such as heuristic search, and can also be interpreted in terms of logic. The traditional distinction that places studies of scientific discovery outside the philosophy of science, in psychology, sociology, or history, is no longer valid in view of the existence of computer systems of discovery. It becomes both reasonable and attractive to study the schemes of discovery in the same way as the criteria of justification were studied: empirically as facts, and logically as norms.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bradshaw, G., P. Langley, and H. A. Simon: 1980, ‘BACON 4: The Discovery of Intrinsic Properties’,Proceedings of the Third National Conference of the Canadian Society for Computational Studies of Intelligence, pp. 19–25.
Buchanan, B. G. and T. M. Mitchell: 1978, ‘Model-Directed Learning of Production Rules’, in A. Waterman and F. Hayes-Roth (eds.),Pattern-Directed Inference Systems, Academic Press, New York.
Feigenbaum, E. A., B. G. Buchanan, and J. Lederberg: 1971, ‘On Generality and Problem Solving: A Case Study Using The DENDRAL Program’,Machine Intelligence 6, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh.
Feigl, H.: 1965, ‘Philosophy of Science’, in R. M. Chisholm et al. (eds.),Philosophy, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs.
Glymour, C.: 1980,Theory and Evidence, Princeton University Press, Princeton.
Hempel, C. G.: 1966,Philosophy of Natural Science, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs.
Hintikka, J.: 1988, ‘What is the Logic of Experimental Inquiry?’,Synthese 74, next issue.
Langley, P. W.: 1978, ‘BACON 1: A General Discovery System’,Proceedings of the Second National Conference of the Canadian Society for Computational Studies, pp. 173–80.
Langley, P. W.: 1981, ‘Data-Driven Discovery of Physical Laws’,Cognitive Science 5, 31–54.
Langley, P., G. Bradshaw, and H. A. Simon: 1983, ‘Rediscovering Chemistry with BACON 4’, in R. S. Michalski, J. G. Carbonell, and T. M. Mitchell (eds.),Machine Learning: An Artificial Intelligence Approach, Tioga Press, Palo Alto.
Langley, P., J. M. Zytkow, G. Bradshaw, and H. A. Simon: 1983a, ‘Three Facets of Scientific Discovery’,Proceedings of the Eighth International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence.
Langley, P. W., H. A. Simon, G. Bradshaw, and J. M. Zytkow: 1987,Scientific Discovery: Computer Explorations of the Creative Processes, MIT Press, Boston.
Lenat, D. B.: 1977, ‘Automated Theory Formation in Mathematics’,Proceedings of the Fifth International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, pp. 833–42.
Lenat, D. B.: 1983, ‘The Role of Heuristics in Learning by Discovery: Three Case Studies’, in R. S. Michalski, J. G. Carbonell, and T. M. Mitchell (eds.),Machine Learning: An Artificial Inelligence Approach, Tioga Press, Palo Alto.
Michalski, R. S. and R. E. Stepp: 1981, ‘An Application of AI Techniques to Structuring Objects Into an Optimal Conceptual Hierarchy’,Proceedings of the Seventh International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, pp. 460–65.
Popper, K.: 1959,The Logic of Scientific Discovery, Basic Books, New York.
Reichenbach, H.: 1938,Experience and Prediction, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Simon, H. A.: 1956, ‘Rational Choice and the Structure of the Environment’,Psychological Review 63, 129–38.
Simon, H. A.: 1973, ‘Does Scientific Discovery Have a Logic?’,Philosophy of Science 40, 471–80.
Zytkow, J. M. and H. A. Simon: 1986, ‘A Theory of Historical Discovery: The Construction of Componential Models’,Machine Learning 1, 107–36.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zytkow, J.M., Simon, H.A. Normative systems of discovery and logic of search. Synthese 74, 65–90 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00869619
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00869619