ABSTRACT
Charles Sanders Peirce, particularly in the work of his mature period, conceives of abduction as a significant logical means for bringing to light new ideas through hypotheses that we construct as we explore the natural world. Akin to the concept of instinct is the idea of imagination mentioned by Peirce at numerous points in his writings. Imagination is an essential part of the process of scientific inquiry, a necessary link in the chain of generating new hypotheses. Certainly, scientific reasoning, which embraces all types of method including their variations, involves both kinds. Peirce and Aristotle realized the fertile role of imagination in the ladder of thought and, by extension, in the field of scientific inquiry, offering new methodological paths that can drive us to novel ontologies far and beyond our known world. The process of scientific reasoning involves the working imagination and, therefore, the development of science cannot be merely a matter of observing and perceiving facts.
