[Inquiry] Re: Examples Of Inquiry

[Jon Awbrey]

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EOI.  Note 2

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Susan Awbrey and I discussed Dewey's example of inquiry in our
article, "Interpretation as Action: The Risk of Inquiry", that
we gave at a Conference on "Hermeneutics and the Human Sciences"
in 1992, a revision of which was subsequently published in the
journal 'Inquiry:  Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines',
Volume 15, No. 1, pages 40-52, (Autumn 1995).  This paper is
available at the Arisbe Web Site or via the following links:

http://www.chss.montclair.edu/inquiry/fall95/awbrey.html
http://members.door.net/arisbe/menu/library/aboutcsp/aboutcsp.htm

Figure 1 indicates the "elementary sign relations" that are
involved in this fragment of inquiry.  In particular, we have
the following two triples of the form <Object, Sign, Interpretant>:

1.  <Rain, Cool Air, Thought of Rain>

2.  <Rain, Dark Cloud, Thought of Rain>

o-----------------------------------------------------------o
| ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` |
| ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `o Sign (Cool Air, Dark Cloud)` ` |
| ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` / ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` |
| ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `/` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` |
| Object (Rain) o------<| ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` |
| ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `\` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` |
| ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` \ ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` |
| ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `o Interpretant (Thought of Rain) |
| ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` |
o-----------------------------------------------------------o
Figure 1.  Sign Relation in Dewey's "Rainy Day Inquiry"

Here what said about the sign-theoretic aspects
of the inquiry process that we were able to
detect in Dewey's example:

| In this narrative we can identify the characters of
| the sign relation as follows:  'coolness' is a Sign of
| the Object 'rain', and the Interpretant is 'the thought
| of the rain's likelihood'.  In his 1910 description of
| reflective thinking Dewey distinguishes two phases,
| "a state of perplexity, hesitation, doubt" and
| "an act of search or investigation" (Dewey 1991, 9),
| comprehensive stages which are further refined in his
| later model of inquiry.  In this example, reflection
| is the act of the interpreter which establishes a fund
| of connections between the sensory shock of coolness
| and the objective danger of rain, by way of his
| impression that rain is likely.  But reflection is
| more than irresponsible speculation.  In reflection
| the interpreter acts to charge or defuse the thought
| of rain (the probability of rain in thought) by seeking
| other signs which this thought implies and evaluating
| the thought according to the results of this search.
|
| Awbrey & Awbrey, 1992

Next time I will take up the differential aspect
of inquiry as a dynamic process of theory change.

Jon Awbrey

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