January 14, 2020 - Hiphis Seminar: The nature of Sherlock Holmes' deductions

Tuesday, January 14, 2020from 5:30to7:30 p.m.,UM IAE, amphi Robert Reix , free admission
(Triolet campus, building 29) -Please note that the journey from the streetcar station will be longer due to construction work.

The nature of Sherlock Holmes' deductions

Denis Vernant
Philosopher of logic and language, Professor Emeritus at Grenoble-Alpes University

Summary:
The success of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes is generally attributed to his deductive abilities. In fact, his reasoning leading to the arrest of the culprit is all based onabduction. Distinct from deduction and induction, abduction is a specific type of inference that involves making assumptions about the supposed cause of an unexpected fact. First, we propose to define abduction as a procedure combining logical reasoning and praxeological inquiry involving empirical data. We will then illustrate its inventive capacity by recalling Kepler's discovery of the elliptical nature of planetary orbs. Finally, using Arthur Conan Doyle's short story SilverBlaze as an example, we'll examine how Sherlock Holmes discovers the identity of the thief.

Joint invitation with IMAG -Institut Montpelliérain Alexandre Grothendieck.
Conference associated withWorld Logic Day, afternoon of lectures at the UM on the same day, IAE amphitheatre, details below.