Affordances as abductive anchors

Emanuele Bardone

pp. 135-157

in: Lorenzo Magnani, Walter Carnielli, Claudio Pizzi (eds), Model-based reasoning in science and technology, Berlin, Springer, 2010

Abstract

In this paper we aim to explain how the notion of abduction may be relevant in describing some crucial aspects related to the notion of affordance, which was originally introduced by the ecological psychologist James J. Gibson. The thesis we develop in this paper is that an affordance can be considered an abductive anchor. Hopefully, the notion of abduction will clear up some ambiguities and misconceptions still present in current debate. Going beyond a merely sentential conception, we will argue that the role played by abduction is two fold. First of all, it is decisive in leading us to a better definition of affordance. Secondly, abduction turns out to be a valuable candidate in clarifying the various issues related to affordance detection.