HiPhiS seminar "The nature of Sherlock Holmes' deductions".

Campus Triolet, IAE, amphi Robert Reix, bâtiment 29, - Place Eugène Bataillon, Montpellier.
Free admission.

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

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 on abduction. Distinct from deduction and induction, abduction is a specific type of inference that involves making assumptions about the supposed cause of an unexpected fact.
We propose first 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 Silver Blaze as an example, we'll examine how Sherlock Holmes discovers the identity of the thief.

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