2. Some examples of Inductive reasoning
1. If my neighbour’s dog has been friendly to me in the past, I am
confident that it will not bite me today.
2. Since my chair has supported my weight in the past, I expect it to
continue to do so.
3. Since no human being has ever lived beyond the age of 125, I know that
human beings are mortal.
4. Language: based on inductive generalisation. When we give things
labels, we implicitly organise them into general classes so that we can
make predictions about them.
5. Science: uses inductive reasoning- formulates general laws on the basis
of a limited number of observations.
Can you think of any more examples?
4. Truth and Validity
Premises Logic Conclusion
True Valid Must be T.
True Invalid Could be T. or F.
False Valid Could be T. Or F.
False Invalid Could Be T. or F.
5. Deductive vs. Inductive
Deduction Induction
Definition Goes from general to
particular
Goes from particular to
the general
Example 1. All dogs are
mammals
2. Fido is a dog
3. Therefore, Fido is a
mammal
In history, people I know
and know of have died.
CONCLUSION: all humans
are mortal.
Value More certain, but less
informative.
More informative but
less certain.