Definition:
A method of reasoning in which a conclusion follows necessarily from the stated premises; inference by reasoning from the general to the specific. Adjective: deductive. Contrast with induction. See also:
Etymology:
From Latin, "leading"Examples and Observations:
- Sherlock Holmes and Watson were on a camping trip. They had gone to bed and were lying there looking up at the sky. Holmes said, "Watson, look up. What do you see?"
"I see thousands of stars."
"And what does that mean to you?"
"I guess it means we will have another nice day tomorrow. What does it mean to you, Holmes?"
"To me, it means someone has stolen our tent." - "The fundamental property of a deductively valid argument is this: If all of its premises are true, then its conclusion must be true also, because the claim asserted by its conclusion already has been stated in its premises, although usually only implicitly.
"Here is an example of a very simple deductively valid argument:
Everything made of copper conducts electricity. (Premise)
This wire is made of copper. (Premise)
This wire will conduct electricity. (Conclusion)
Taken alone, neither premise makes the claim that the wire will conduct electricity; but taken together, they do, although not explicitly."
(H. Kahane and N. Cavender, Logic and Contemporary Rhetoric, 1998) - "You'd like to think that, wouldn't you? You've beaten my giant, which means you're exceptionally strong, so you could've put the poison in your own goblet, trusting on your strength to save you, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. But, you've also bested my Spaniard, which means you must have studied, and in studying you must have learned that man is mortal, so you would have put the poison as far from yourself as possible, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me."
(Vizzini in The Princess Bride, 1987)
Pronunciation: di-DUK-shun
Also Known As: deductive argument
