Types of Reasoning in Critical Thinking

What is the primary purpose of critical reasoning in arguments?

Deductive reasoning involves providing evidence to support a hypothesis.

What is the key characteristic of a good analogy in reasoning by analogy?

In deductive reasoning, one moves from ______ to specific conclusions.

Match the types of reasoning with their descriptions:

What is the issue with the deductive reasoning in the example: 'All swans are white. Jane is white. Therefore, Jane is a swan.'

In deductive reasoning, the conclusion is always true if the premises are true.

What is the difference between deductive and inductive reasoning?

Just because Tom Cruise is handsome, it does not necessarily mean he is an __________.

What can an educated guess become through research and outside sources?

In the example 'All farmers like burgers. Jethro likes chicken wings. Therefore, Jethro is not a farmer.', the premises are false.

Match the following types of reasoning with their characteristics:

Types of Reasoning

Critical reasoning is used to uncover errors in arguments and justify our own arguments.

Reasoning by Analogy

Compares one thing to another similar thing to explain it.
A good analogy has a stronger similarity than dissimilarity and is clarifying.

Deductive Reasoning

Applies a principle to a specific situation.
Moves from generalities to specific conclusions.
The statements used to draw the conclusion must be true.

Inductive Reasoning

Involves providing evidence to support a hypothesis.
The more evidence available, the more reliable the hypothesis.

Invalid Deductive Reasoning

Overgeneralization can occur in deductive reasoning, even with true premises, leading to incorrect conclusions.
Examples of invalid deductive reasoning:
- All swans are white, Jane is white, therefore Jane is a swan (false assumption)
- All farmers like burgers, Jethro likes chicken wings, therefore Jethro is not a farmer (false assumption)
- All actors are handsome, Tom Cruise is handsome, therefore Tom Cruise is an actor (false assumption)
In these examples, the premises may be true, but the conclusions make invalid assumptions.
The conclusion "c" is an overgeneralization, and does not necessarily follow from "a" and "b".

Deductive vs. Inductive Reasoning

In deductive reasoning, the conclusion is necessarily true if the premises are true.
In inductive reasoning, the conclusion might be true, but may nonetheless be false.
Inductive reasoning can lead to an educated guess, which can be developed into a hypothesis through research and outside sources.

Learn about different forms of critical reasoning, including reasoning by analogy and deductive reasoning, to improve argument justification and error detection.