• Heuristic

    Date: 2009.11.07 | Category: Glossary, Unit SSK12 | Tags:

    Glossary
    Unit: SSK12
    Week: 10
    Date: 07 November 2009

    Word: heuristic adj.
    Context: Heuristic is used by Avruch in his treatment of culture: “…this assertion great heuristic value…” Heuristic is also mentioned in the definition of reification in The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought: “stressed for heuristic purposes”.
    Definition: The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought defines heuristic as being “Concerned with ways of finding things out or solving problems”. Then explains that it is “a procedure for searching out an unknown goal by incremental exploration, according to some guiding principle which reduces the amount of searching required”. The Blackwell Dictionary of Western Philosophy adds, “In modern logic, a heuristic procedure aims at problem solving, but offers no guarantee of proof. In this sense, heuristic contrasts with proof.
    Word in Use: Leanne took a heuristic approach to statistical problem.

    Avruch, Kevin. 2002. Part 1: Culture. In Culture and Conflict Resolution, 5-7; 14-17. Washington: United States Institute of Peace Press.

    Bullock, A., and Trombley, S., eds. 2000. The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought. 3rd ed. London: Harper Collins.

    Bunnin, N., and Yu, J., eds. 2009. The Blackwell Dictionary of Western Philosophy. West Sussex, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell.