Inquiry and Inferential Thinking

Abstract

This chapter provides a brief introduction to Peirce’s method of inquiry which draws on logical, inferential reasoning and was aimed at arriving at a fixed belief. It was based on a scientific method and way of thinking that could be applied not only to science but also to everyday life. In addition, Peirce argued that such an inquiry should not be seen as an isolated event but part of a connected series of investigations that constituted a single collective experiment. It was in this way that a community of inquirers could move forwards towards a shared understanding. This could also be achieved by arriving at conclusions and knowledge that were not influenced by individual beliefs but by a common reality external to the human mind. For Peirce, therefore, reality was entirely independent of our opinions. As a result, he believed that even though inquirers might start from different positions, if they used a scientific method they would eventually reach the same conclusions. The chapter argues that Peirce’s ideas can be applied to the process of developing new knowledge and understanding, which is both an implicit and explicit aim of education and schooling.