Science proceeds by inference, rather than by the deduction of mathematical proof. A series of observations is accumulated, forcing the deeper question: What must be true if we are to explain what is observed? What "big picture" of reality offers the best fit to what is actually observed in our experience? American scientist and philosopher Charles S. Peirce used the term "abduction" to refer to the way in which scientists generate theories that might offer the best explanation of things. The method is now more often referred to as "inference to the best explanation." It is now widely agreed to be the philosophy of investigation of the world characteristic of the natural sciences. . Alister E. McGrath
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The word "abduction" was coined by the philosopher and logician Charles Sanders Peirce and has come to refer to a form of inference, particularly in philosophy and science. In deduction, one moves from the premises to the conclusion. In abduction one moves from the observed facts to a theory or hypothesis which might explain those facts. The method is now more often referred to as "inference to the best explanation." It is now widely agreed to be the philosophy of investigation of the world characteristic of the natural sciences.

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