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Literary notes about heuristic (AI summary)

In many literary and scholarly texts, "heuristic" is employed to denote methods or principles that encourage discovery, exploration, and problem-solving rather than providing final, definitive answers. Authors discuss its role as a guiding strategy in education and science, where it is seen both as an instructional method and as a regulative principle (e.g., [1], [2], [3]). In philosophical discussions, the term is used to highlight the tentative nature of understanding and to stress the importance of inquiry over merely established conclusions, as seen when it is positioned alongside reason and hypothesis ([4], [5]). Additionally, it appears in debates about the evolution of intellectual techniques, being described as instrumental in the continuous refinement of our cognitive tools ([6], [7]). Overall, the usage of "heuristic" reflects a nuanced appreciation for methods that generate new ways of thinking and learning across various fields.
  1. Among these must be remembered the 'Heuristic Method' of teaching science put forward by Professor H. E. Armstrong.
    — from The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Ebert to Estremadura Volume 4, Part 2 by Various
  2. In all other cases, as we have already pointed out, assumption and probability have only a heuristic value for us lawyers.
    — from Criminal Psychology: A Manual for Judges, Practitioners, and Students by Hans Gross
  3. In the elaboration of our experience, they may also be employed with great advantage, as heuristic
    — from The Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant
  4. These rules will then be purely heuristic and regulative, relating only to the formal interests of Reason, and may well stand side by side.
    — from A Commentary to Kant's 'Critique of Pure Reason' by Norman Kemp Smith
  5. The distinction between error as error and error as suggestion, between error and hypothesis or heuristic expedients, is of capital importance.
    — from Logic as the Science of the Pure Concept by Benedetto Croce
  6. The instruments of Heuristic are being continually perfected, before our eyes, in two ways.
    — from Introduction to the Study of History by Charles Seignobos
  7. This circle of understanding, really a sphere more than a uni-dimensional circle, is a heuristic device which directs our attention.
    — from Nursing as Caring: A Model for Transforming Practice by Savina O'Bryan Schoenhofer

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