WHAT IS THE LOGIC OF EXPERIMENTAL INQUIRY

The purpose of this paper is to expound one of the most important insights yielded by the interrogative model of inquiry, prominently including scientific inquiry. I have outlined this model elsewhere.1 The basic idea on which this model is based is simplicity itself. It can be expressed most easily in the jargon of game theory.2 A player, called the Inquirer, is trying to prove a predetermined conclusion C from a given theoretical premise T. (In a variant form, the Inquirer is trying to prove either C or ~ C, i.e., to answer the initial question “C or not- C?”.) Over and above deductive moves, i.e., over and above drawing logical inferences, beginning with T, the Inquirer may address questions to a source of information and use the answers (when available) as additional premises, in short, may carry out interrogative moves. The answerer is called Nature. As a bookkeeping technique, a Beth-like semantical tableau can be assumed to be used.3 Each move is relative to the stage of a subtableau reached in the game at the time. The questions must of course pertain to a given model M of the language of T. Before a question is asked, its presupposition must have been established by the Inquirer, that is, occur in the left column of the subtableau in question.4