New Books in Philosophy Kenneth Aizawa, "Compositional Abduction and Scientific Interpretation: A Granular Approach" (Cambridge UP, 2025)
Jan 10, 2026
Kenneth Aizawa, a philosophy professor at Rutgers University—Newark, explores how scientists reason without direct observation in his latest work. He delves into compositional abduction, explaining how lower-level components—like sodium ions—not only serve as answers but confirm hypotheses. Aizawa challenges traditional views on scientific reasoning, emphasizing the importance of individual experiments over broad theories. He also links his theories to historical debates in psychology, aiming to reshape our understanding of scientific practices and reasoning.
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Singular Compositional Abduction Defined
- Scientists often explain singular experimental results by positing lower-level entities that are unobserved.
- Kenneth Aizawa calls this 'singular compositional abduction' and treats it as distinct from IBE or eliminative methods.
Hodgkin and Huxley’s Ion Explanation
- Hodgkin and Huxley explained a recorded axonal current by positing sodium ions moving into the axon.
- They appealed to unmeasured membrane permeability changes and ions as microscopic parts composing the observed current.
Photograph 51 Sparked Double Helix
- Watson immediately recognized features of Rosalind Franklin's Photograph 51 as indicating a double helix.
- Aizawa treats that recognition as a paradigmatic case of compositional abduction.
