Logical reasoning involves forming conclusions based on evidence or facts. Deductive reasoning leads to an indisputable conclusion, while inductive reasoning determines a highly probable conclusion. Logical fallacies must be avoided for a convincing argument.
Logical reasoning is a system for forming conclusions based on a set of premises or information. Commonly, logical reasoning is divided into two main types called deductive and inductive reasoning. While the principles of logic can be used to create a strong argument for or against a conclusion, the system has several vulnerabilities, including the possibility of false premises, fallacies, and intentional distortion of reason.
To reach a conclusion using logical reasoning, evidence or facts must first be presented. For example, if a grocer wants to know if he sells more beets than turnips, he can gather evidence of how many of the two vegetables have been in recent shipments, how many were sold, and whether there was loss of product due to theft or damage. If his premises show that he sold 52 turnips and 75 beets in the same month, with no losses due to theft or damage, he can logically conclude that he sells more beets than turnips based on the evidence.
The type of reasoning in the above example is known as deductive reasoning. This type of logic occurs when the premises add up to a single indisputable conclusion. Since the premises are exact, deductive reasoning can prove an absolute truth or fact. Inductive logic, by contrast, uses premises to determine a highly probable, but not absolute, conclusion. While inductive logical reasoning can be much more complex to understand than deductive reasoning, it generally makes up the majority of logic-based arguments.
One type of inductive reasoning involves conclusions that have to do with the future. If the grocer in the first example wants to know whether he will sell more turnips or beets in the next month, an absolute answer becomes impossible to obtain because chance comes into play. Based on his past sales, the grocer might assume that because he sold more beets in January, he will also sell more in February; however, if an E.coli outbreak in beets in early February makes people fear buying, his initial conclusion could be false. Using his sales records and knowledge of buying trends, she may be able to formulate an inductive argument suggesting a high probability of selling more beets than turnips, but his assumptions cannot be an absolute guarantee.
Logical reasoning can be a good servant but a poor master. While the principles of using accurate premises to draw a strong conclusion may be admirable, they often break when used incorrectly. A logical fallacy occurs when an incorrect or unsupported conclusion is drawn from premises. There are dozens of types of logical fallacies that serve as threads and pitfalls for good logical reasoning and must be avoided to ensure a solid and convincing argument.
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