In this course, we will look at two important types of reasoning:
- Deductive
- Inductive
In deductive reasoning, we often look at general statements and find specifics. We do this all the time in real life. For example:
Someone in my house ate my cheesecake.
Only you and I were in my house.
I didn’t eat my cheesecake.
Therefore, YOU ate my cheesecake.
Notice how we went from a more general case (someone ate my cheesecake) to a more specific case (you ate my cheesecake).
Deductive reasoning is very helpful in math, science, law, and finding out who ate your food. It is also a great way to annoy your friends.
In inductive reasoning, we start with observations – we watch around to find patterns. Then we apply those patterns to other cases. And what does that mean? Here’s an example:
Every time my friend wears sandals, his feet smell bad.
Therefore, the next time my friend wears sandals, his feet will likely smell bad.
Inductive reasoning is the thinking process behind science and medicine. You can annoy your friends with this lots, too.
These forms of reasoning are very important. We use them to help us understand our world. We could never catch a criminal or make a scientific law without deductive and inductive reasoning.
To understand reasoning better, it helps to look at examples, and we will give you a lot of examples in this course!
Next up – try the quizzes just for fun!