The Science of inductive Reasoning

Inductive Reasoning can be defined as the procedure of obtaining answers to questions without necessarily having the knowledge needed to answer the questions. Most people can use induction to solve everyday problems such as when asking how many cupcakes are two cups? Most college students can also use inductive reasoning to solve problems in science class such as when asking how light gets from a light bulb to the space shuttle. Even the United States armed forces uses inductive reasoning to solve problems in battle.

The problem with inductive reasoning is that it makes generalizations about particular instances. inductive reasoning is used by scientists and other people in the scientific community to draw generalizations from specific observations. This is similar to statistics, which are used to draw generalizations from specific observations. Both types of reasoning are fallible and often incorrect. In order to make accurate and more useful generalizations, it is necessary to apply a technique known as deductive reasoning.

Deductive Reasoning allows for the elimination of certain variables that are not necessary in order to reach a conclusion. It also allows for the removal of variables that might have been necessary but have been arbitrarily chosen. One example of this would be if all possible outcomes for a surgical procedure were known at the time the surgery was performed then the surgeons could eliminate any risk of mortality. The surgeon could then confidently predict how many pills will be taken during the procedure. This form of deductive logic allows a probability to be calculated before any conclusion is made.

Deductive Logical Methods are used in many fields including economics. Economics deals with the most common problem of deciding what to do with resources in a given situation. economists use a technique of inductive reasoning called the prior probability. In a prior probability a mathematical formula is used to determine if a certain set of facts are likely true or false. Using the formula, a reasonable conclusion can be drawn about the likelihood that a desired outcome will take place.

Another example of deductive reasoning allows a customer to infer the likelihood that a specific grocery store will sell hamburgers within a specific time frame. The intuition that the customer infers is that a grocery store that sells hamburgers will probably sell football jerseys. The formula for this inference is very simple; the higher the odds of an item being sold, the more likely it is that customers will purchase the item. Therefore, the higher the odds, the more likely the football jerseys will be sold.

Another example of inductive reasoning uses the example of a circle. An abductive reasoning argument uses one or more examples of a circle to support its conclusion. In the dog example, the circular reasoning relies on the probability that dogs will wear clothes. If two people were willing to wear clothes then surely a dog would wear clothes. Therefore it is reasonable to conclude that dogs wear clothes.

An example of deductive reasoning can also be used in testing the strength of a scientific theory. It is necessary to develop a hypothesis before using inductive reasoning to test this hypothesis. This means that a hypothesis must be supported by scientific facts. Once a hypothesis has been tested, all that is left to do is apply the principles to the data gathered to arrive at a logical conclusion.

inductive reasoning makes predictions that can be tested and proven. It is necessary however, to make certain that the predictions are not affected by how strong a person’s faith or opinion is. By making predictions the person is only able to make generalizations. A more detailed analysis of the data should be used to reach a more reliable conclusion.