The Means of Innovation Ch. 2: Abstraction and Different Levels of Methods

Abstract

This Chapter explores the nature of abstraction and how it leads to methods at different levels of generality. We consider this in three ways. Section A looks at abstraction and the relationship between principles and methods through both philosophical and neuroscience perspectives. Section B considers the central role of language in abstraction. Section C concludes the Chapter by exploring in more detail the concept of different levels of methods, in terms of abstractness, that can form the hierarchies that will be a central aspect of methodology.

Keywords: innovation, entrepreneurship, abstraction, abstract, methods, generalization, neuroscience, language