ABSTRACT

Traditionally, there are said to be two kinds of inference, deductive and inductive. Unfortunately, there are at least two uses of “induction” which are commonly confused with each other. To avoid confusion, it is best to adopt the following definitions:

• Deductive inference: A kind of reasoning in which the premises purportedly entail the conclusion; that is, support the conclusion in such a way that it would be impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion to be false.