Abductive reasoning

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Vocabulary

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Abductive reasoning

Abductive reasoning (also called abduction,[1] abductive inference,[1] or retroduction[2]) is a form of logical inference which starts with an observation then seeks to find the simplest and most likely explanation. In abductive reasoning, unlike in deductive reasoning, the premises do not guarantee the conclusion. One can understand abductive reasoning as inference to the best explanation,[3] although not all uses of the terms abduction and inference to the best explanation are exactly equivalent.[4][5]

In the 1990s, as computing power grew, the fields of law,[6] computer science, and artificial intelligence research[7] spurred renewed interest in the subject of abduction.[8] Diagnostic expert systems frequently employ abduction.