Inductive Logic

Inductive logic is a way of reasoning where we start with specific statements and look for patterns to make a general conclusion. The key idea is that we are not guaranteeing truth — we are guessing based on what we have seen so far.

Definition

In inductive logic, you collect examples (statements about particular cases), and then you form a new statement that covers all cases. This new statement is called a generalization. It might be true, but it could also turn out false if a counterexample appears later.

Examples

• Statement 1: The sun rose yesterday.
  Statement 2: The sun rose today.
  Generalization: The sun rises every day. (An inductive conclusion)


• Statement 1: This swan is white.
  Statement 2: That swan is white.
  Generalization: All swans are white. (Until you see a black swan!)


• Statement 1: 2 is even.
  Statement 2: 4 is even.
  Statement 3: 6 is even.
  Generalization: All multiples of 2 are even. (This one actually happens to be true!)

Key Point

Inductive reasoning plays with statements that we observe and uses them to guess a new, broader statement. But the new statement is not guaranteed to be true — it is just probably true based on the evidence we have.

For Sciences:

Inductive logic is mostly used in social sciences and statistics where we only have observations to go from. We have to make the best of the observations we have to make important generalizations that have real-world impacts.

Some Induction Exercises