inductive reasoning
Noun
Meaning
reasoning from detailed facts to general principles
Source: WordNetSynonyms
Antonyms
Hypernyms
Related terms
Examples
The main importance of Francis Bacon's influence does not lie in any peculiar theory of inductive reasoning which he happened to express, but in the revolt against second-hand information of which he was a leader.
A classic example of inductive reasoning comes from the empiricist David Hume : :Premise: The sun has risen in the east every morning up until now.
Among Peirce's major contributions was to place inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning in a complementary rather than competitive mode, the latter of which had been the primary trend among the educated since David Hume wrote a century before.
Hume's lasting legacy, however, was the doubt that his skeptical arguments cast on the legitimacy of inductive reasoning, allowing many skeptics who followed to cast similar doubt.
In this way one can get away from the false perception of the "bastard" knowledge and grasp the truth through the inductive reasoning.
Inductive reasoning contrasts strongly with deductive reasoning in that, even in the best, or strongest, cases of inductive reasoning, the truth of the premises does not guarantee the truth of the conclusion.