deductive logic
Premises guarantee conclusions
Deductive logic is reasoning that moves from general principles to specific conclusions.
If the premises are true and the reasoning valid, the conclusion must be true: All mammals are warm-blooded; dogs are mammals; therefore dogs are warm-blooded.
This contrasts with inductive logic, which generalizes from specific observations.
Deductive reasoning underlies mathematical proofs and formal argumentation.
- soundnessReliability of structure
- conclusionEnd or deduction
- inferenceConclusion reached through reasoning
- mathematical proofLogical demonstration of truth
- validityQuality of being sound
axiom · reductio ad absurdum · premise · necessary condition · sufficient condition · truth table · syllogism · Sherlock Holmes · process of elimination · tautology · clue · epistemology · contradiction · necessary · theorem · Aristotle · first principles · if-then
- thinking skillsreasoning, reason, critical thinking, analytical thinking, analysis
- logicpremise, premises, conclusion, conclusions, inference
- philosophyethics, metaphysics, ontology, epistemology, axiology
- philosophy termstruth, reason, knowledge, wisdom, ethics
- formal systemsaxioms, postulates, derivation, proofs, theorems
- praxeologyhuman action, means and ends, axioms, teleology, intentionality
deductive logicintuition
Instinctive immediate understanding
gut feeling · guesswork · trial and error · heuristics · instinct