Discussion Hour: Inferential reasoning in philosophy and comparative psychology

Speaker: Dr Giacomo Melis (University of Stirling)

I discuss the relation between some characterisations of inferential reasoning in philosophy and comparative psychology. I point out some analogies and differences, I suggest that each camp may have something to learn by engaging with the other, and I outline two broad ways in which this may happen. On the one hand, the empirical study of reasoning may offer philosophers evidence relevant to investigate the nature of rationality and the varieties of its manifestations. On the other hand, the philosophical distinction between logic and reasoning may help comparative psychologists to fine-tune the empirical criteria for deductive reasoning in non-verbal and preverbal subjects.