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Inductive reasoning is any of various methods of reasoning in which broad generalizations or principles are derived from a body of observations. [1] [2] This article is concerned with the inductive reasoning other than deductive reasoning (such as mathematical induction), where the conclusion of a deductive argument is certain given the premises are correct; in contrast, the truth of the ...
In inductive reasoning, one makes a series of observations and infers a claim based on them. For instance, from a series of observations that a woman walks her dog by the market at 8 am on Monday, it seems valid to infer that next Monday she will do the same, or that, in general, the woman walks her dog by the market every Monday.
Francis Bacon, articulating inductivism in England, is often falsely stereotyped as a naive inductivist. [11] [12] Crudely explained, the "Baconian model" advises to observe nature, propose a modest law that generalizes an observed pattern, confirm it by many observations, venture a modestly broader law, and confirm that, too, by many more observations, while discarding disconfirmed laws. [13]
It is noted that no law of science can be considered mere inductive generalization of facts because each law does not exist in isolation. [8] This is for, instance, demonstrated by thinkers such as John Stuart Mill, who maintained that inductionism is the initial act in the formulation of a general law using the deductive approaches to science. [9]
Bacon's method is an example of the application of inductive reasoning. However, Bacon's method of induction is much more complex than the essential inductive process of making generalisations from observations.
Scottish philosopher David Hume first formulated the problem of induction, [12] arguing there is no non-circular way to justify inductive reasoning. That is, reasoning based on inferring general conclusions from specific observations. This is a problem because induction is widely used in everyday life and scientific reasoning, e.g.,
A subdivision of philosophy and a variety of reasoning is logic. The traditional main division made in philosophy is between deductive reasoning and inductive reasoning. Formal logic has been described as the science of deduction. [65] The study of inductive reasoning is generally carried out within the field known as informal logic or critical ...
As such, and as al-Sadr puts it in his introduction, there is a "gap" in inductive reasoning. This is since while deductive reasoning is justified by the law of noncontradiction, induction lacks this justification. Al-Sadr aims in this book to close this "gap", and provide the missing justification for inductive reasoning.