Roman Morawski

It is argued, in this paper, that the core operation underlying any measurement—the inverse modelling under uncertainty—is equivalent to quantitative abductive reasoning which consists in the selection of the best estimate of a measurand in a set of admissible solutions, using a priori information: on the measurand, on the measuring system coupled with an object under measurement, and on the influence of the environment including the user of the measurement results. There are two key premises of this claim: a systematic interpretation of measurement in terms of inverse problems, proposed earlier by the author, and a logical link between inverse problems and abduction, identified by the Finnish philosopher of science Ilkka Niiniluoto. The title claim of this paper is illustrated with an expanded example of measuring optical spectrum by means of a low-resolution spectrometer.

From the content: Introduction Mathematical modelling Measurement Scientific explanation Context of discovery Context of justification Uncertainty of scientific knowledge Morality and moral philosophy System ofvalues associated with science General principles of moral decision-making Researchethics Methodological and ethical issues related to experimentation Methodological and ethical issues to researchinformation Methodological and ethical issuesrelated to legal protection of intellectual property.