INFERENCE METHOD IN DETECTIVE FICTION

Abstract

Literary detectives are usually characterized by logical skills. At least, since Chevalier Auguste Dupin began in Edgar Allan Poe’s narrative, that’s the pride many of them want. According to their self-description, detectives use their analytical capabilities in a methodical, highly controlled, and self-reflective manner to solve and eliminate hidden causes of mysterious events. No matter how exaggerated their logical abilities were, they have not been subjected to stricter scrutiny. In contrast to detective self-characterization, many mysterious stories describe actual detective work as the interaction of semi-conscious observation, random guessing, and the ability to allow one’s mind and body to drift. These tricks (observation, guessing, and drifting) are not only deviated from the general model of the crafty investigator. On the contrary, detective fiction makes a contradictory relationship between logic and the actual art of problem-solving: detective characters are important promoters of both inside and outside the framework of rational thought. In this way, detective fiction opens the door to problem-solving strategies, which can be called para-noetic.