Deduction / Induction

Deduction / Induction — Two fundamental methods of reasoning. Deduction is reasoning in which the conclusion follows necessarily from the premises — if the premises are true, the conclusion cannot be false (Aristotelian syllogism, geometry). Induction moves from particular cases to probable generalizations — the basis of the modern scientific method (Bacon, Hume). The “problem of induction” (Hume): no number of past observations logically guarantees a universal future conclusion.

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