ABSTRACT
Inference, likewise, has two chief types, namely, Induction and Deduction. Inductive inference is the process of ascertaining some kind of order among the phenomena observed and studied. In the scientific study of natural phenomena, inductive inference plays the most important rôle, though deductive reasoning also contributes its share. The cognitive processes referred to are those of analysis and synthesis, imagination, supposition and idealization, comparison, and the perception of analogies. The discovery of order in the phenomena of nature, notwithstanding their complexity and apparent confusion, is rendered possible by the processes of analysis and synthesis, which are the foundation of all scientific methods. A knowledge of the kind of inferences dealt with in the preceding chapters should be helpful in connection with the application of scientific methods. The observation of similarities and differences, aided by the processes of analysis and synthesis, constitutes one of the first steps in all knowledge, and accompanies its progress throughout.
