In this next post I want to discuss Inductive and Deductive Reasoning. These are terms I have heard throughout my academic lifetime but never really mastered. Basically, Deductive reasoning is the intuitive reasoning that one would deduce logically. For example: Trees are used for wood. This table is made with wood. This table is made from tree. Why this example is deductive is because of the logical progression of premises to a conclusion. The is the most general type of reasoning and also incorporates different types of reasoning such as casual as well. Its complement, Inductive reasoning, is similar but different in a few important ways. First, we can take a look at an example of Inductive Reasoning. Inductive Reasoning would look like this: Well, every other day that I have attended class the teacher has been late…so, I can assume that today will be no different. The teacher will be late. Why this is Inductive Reasoning is because of the steps taken to reach the conclusion. The subject assumes that future events will be held true solely based on past events. Now, this form of reasoning, as you can imagine, can get you into some trouble. Just because it happened in the past does not mean that it will happen in the future. If I were to choose between the two forms of Reasoning I would choose Deductive. It’s a safer bet.
I blogged about Inductive and Deductive reasoning as well. I was confused at the beginning because it seem to be similar to me, but i eventually understood both reasoning's. After reading your post, I was able to think of more examples for myself to practice. Using personal example about your teacher being late was perfect. However, i can't imagine teachers or professors being late to most of their classes. Hopefully it was just an example you used, lol. I feel that instructors who have an office near their classroom tend to lag more than other instructors who walk across campus, which is 15-20min before class time.
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