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The method of abductive reasoning bears a close relation to the sense of reduction in which we speak of one question reducing to another.  The question being asked is "Can virtue be taught?" The type of answer which develops is the following.

The method of abductive reasoning bears a close relation to the sense of reduction in which we speak of one question reducing to another.  The question being asked is “Can virtue be taught?” The type of answer which develops is the following.

If virtue is a form of understanding, and if we are willing to grant that understanding can be taught, then virtue can be taught.  In this way of approaching the problem, by detour and indirection, the form of abductive reasoning is used to shift the attack from the original question, whether virtue can be taught, to the hopefully easier question, whether virtue is a form of understanding.

If virtue is a form of understanding, and if we are willing to grant that understanding can be taught, then virtue can be taught.  In this way of approaching the problem, by detour and indirection, the form of abductive reasoning is used to shift the attack from the original question, whether virtue can be taught, to the hopefully easier question, whether virtue is a form of understanding.

The logical structure of the process of hypothesis formation in the first example follows the pattern of "abduction to a case", whose abstract form is diagrammed and schematized in Figure 6.

The logical structure of the process of hypothesis formation in the first example follows the pattern of “abduction to a case”, whose abstract form is diagrammed and schematized in Figure 6.

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