ABSTRACT
In the sciences and in philosophy, essentially two types of inference are used, deductive and inductive. Deductive inference is usually based on the strict rules of logic and in most settings, deductive logic is irrefutable. Inductive reasoning is the act of guessing a pattern or rule or predicting future behavior based on past experience. For example, for the average person, the sun has risen every day of that person’s life; it might seem safe to then conclude that the sun will rise again tomorrow. However, one can not prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the sun will rise tomorrow. There may be a certain set of circumstances that prevent the sun rising tomorrow.
