A Deductive Argument is an argument where (if valid) the conclusion follows necessarily from the premises; it moves from general to particular. Premises are the claims, principles, reasons, or alleged facts cited in support of the conclusion. A Deductive Argument is sound when it is valid and all its premises are true. Deductive reasoning, when sound, yields certainty.
An Inductive Argument is an argument where (from weak to strong) the conclusion follows with varying degrees of probability from the premises; it moves from particular to general. Premises are the claims, principles, reasons, or alleged facts cited in support of the conclusion. An Inductive Argument is cogent when it is strong and all its premises are true. Inductive reasoning yields only probability, not certainty.
(Permission to use “Argument terminology”
from Wikimedia.org is found here.)
Please note that a Deductive Argument can also be invalid and/or unsound. Likewise, an Inductive Argument can also be weak and/or uncogent. Furthermore, some logicians refer to Inductive Arguments as Nondeductive Arguments because 1) they are primarily dealing with different kinds of standards of logic and not different kinds of arguments, and 2) because an Inductive Argument is one kind of Nondeductive Argument. Other examples include Inductive Generalizations and Abductive Reasoning.
~ Boethius ~
You may want to visit my Logic Page for suggested resources on “Logic in Pursuit of Truth” and “Logic in Western Thought and Culture.” The three books I most highly recommend are:
- Come, Let Us Reason: An Introduction to Logical Thinking by Norman Geisler and Ronald Brooks
- Socratic Logic by Peter Kreeft
- Logic and the Way of Jesus: Thinking Critically and Christianly by Travis Dickinson