“Sherlock Holmes uses inductive reasoning — he has a rule and deduces the conclusion.”
Usage Entry 1103 / 1350 60-second read
Deductive vs. Inductive
Reasoning from general rules to specific cases versus from specific cases to general rules.
The comparisoni
“Sherlock Holmes actually uses deductive reasoning — he applies a rule to a case.”
The ruleii
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DEDUCTIVE = rule-first. INDUCTIVE = cases-first.
DEDUCTIVE reasoning goes from general to specific — if the rule is true, the conclusion follows. INDUCTIVE reasoning goes from specific observations to a general rule — scientific generalisations work this way.
Memory aidiii
Remember it like this
DEDuce = derive. INDuce = infer.