In pragmatic semiotics, concept formation like hypothesis formation falls under the heading of abductive inference. A lot has been said and there’s a lot more to say about that, but things are too much in flux right now to allow for an organized exposition.
So here’s just a teaser from Peirce on how concepts evolve from one level of complexity to the next, using incidentally a paradigm from the world of physics.
cc: Ontolog Forum • Structural Modeling • Systems Science • FB | Peirce Matters
Inquiry Into Inquiry 