ABSTRACT
Deduction, or deductive inference, is usually defined as inference from a general proposition, or from general propositions, or as the application of laws to relevant cases. It is usually contrasted with induction, which is inference from particulars. The term Deduction should also be used more consistently than is usually the case. Every syllogism, as we have seen, has two premises, a major premise and a minor premise. The major premise contains the middle term and the major term; the minor premise contains the middle term and the minor term. And syllogism is usually described at once as mediate inference and as deductive inference, and also as confined to propositions which express the relation of attribute to substance. The term Syllogism also has the advantage of greater brevity than the term mediate inference. Syllogism only means putting two and two together, and that is just what is done in all mediate inference.
