reasoning backward

The author covers what managers can learn from game theory; looking forward, reasoning backward, and the relationship between business and chess; the prisonerAEs dilemma; coordination and anti-coordination games; strategic business moves; and a wide variety of other related subjects over the bookAEs eight chapters.

Walton treats causation abductively, that is, as reasoning backward from data to an explanatory hypothesis.

Reasoning forward may seem natural; but they should be aware of the relevance and potential effectiveness of other approaches, including that of reasoning backward.

But the larger, painfully obvious objection to this argument is a structural one: Reasoning backward under the impression that the destructive results of this or that piece of writing invalidates its purchase on our serious attention could make "E=mc squared" the most taboo phrase in the language.