In Charles Sanders Peirce's philosophy, abduction plays a crucial role as a form of reasoning distinct from deduction and induction. Abduction is essentially the process of forming an explanatory hypothesis. It's what we use when we encounter surprising facts and need to hypothesize possible explanations. Here is an overview of abduction in Peirce's thought:

1. Defining Abduction: Abduction, or "inference to the best explanation," involves generating hypotheses to explain observed phenomena. Unlike deduction, where conclusions necessarily follow from premises, or induction, which generalizes from specific instances, abduction involves suggesting the most likely or practical hypothesis to explain observations.

2. Role in Scientific Inquiry: Peirce saw abduction as the starting point of scientific inquiry. It's the creative step that generates new ideas and theories, which are then tested through deduction and induction. Abduction is where a scientist devises theories that explain surprising facts or anomalies within existing frameworks.

3. Peirce’s Triadic Structure: In Peirce's semiotic theory, which studies signs and symbols as part of his broader philosophy, the triadic structure of sign, object, and interpretant parallels the process of abduction. Here, the sign (phenomenon) leads to the formation of an interpretant, which is the hypothesized understanding or explanation.

4. Abduction as Creative Insight: Peirce emphasized the creative aspect of abduction. It requires a leap of insight, guided by intuition yet subjected to critical testing and evaluation. This creative insight drives scientific progress as it opens new avenues for investigation.

For more in-depth exploration, you might consider looking at this resource on Peirce and abduction from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Peirce’s conceptualization of abduction has had a profound influence on the philosophy of science, logic, and even areas like artificial intelligence and cognitive psychology, where the mechanisms of hypothesis generation and problem-solving are crucial.