Formal Versus Informal Logic

• Deductive Versus Inductive

• Forms of Reasoning
 Two Basic Categories of Human Reasoning
• Deduction: reasoning from general premises,
which are known or presumed to be known, to
more specific, certain conclusions.

• Induction: reasoning from specific cases to more

general, but uncertain, conclusions.

• Both deductive and inductive arguments occur

frequently and naturally…both forms of reasoning
can be equally compelling and persuasive, and
neither form is preferred over the other (Hollihan &
Baske, 1994).
 Deduction Vs. Induction
Deduction: Induction
• commonly associated • commonly known as
with “formal logic.” “informal logic,” or
• involves reasoning “everyday argument”
from known premises, • involves drawing uncertain
or premises presumed inferences, based on
to be true, to a certain probabalistic reasoning.
conclusion.
• the conclusions reached
• the conclusions are probable, reasonable,
reached are certain, plausible, believable.
inevitable,
inescapable.
 Deductive Versus Inductive Reasoning
Deduction Induction
• It is the form or structure • By contrast, the form or
of a deductive argument structure of an inductive
that determines its validity argument has little to do
• the fundamental property of with its perceived
a valid, deductive argument believability or credibility,
is that if the premises are apart from making the
argument seem more
true, then the conclusion
clear or more well-
necessarily follows. organized.
• The conclusion is said to be • The receiver (or a 3rd
“entailed” in, or contained party) determines the
in, the premises. worth of an inductive
– example: use of DNA testing argument
to establish paternity
 Inductive or deductive reasoning?
• A sample of fifty • The Law of the Sea treaty
motorists who were states that any vessel
stopped by the CHP at a beyond a 12 mile limit is
sobriety checkpoint on a in international waters.
Saturday at midnight The treaty also states that
revealed that one in four any vessel in international
drivers were either waters cannot be legally
uninsured, intoxicated, stopped or boarded.
or both. Thus, if you get Therefore, when the U.S.
involved in an accident Coast Guard intercepts
on the freeway there is a boats coming from Cuba
25% chance the other or Haiti more than 12
motorist will be drunk or miles from the U.S. coast,
uninsured. it is violating the Law of
the Sea.
 Sample Deductive and Inductive Arguments
Example of
Example of
Deduction Induction
• major premise: All • Boss to
tortoises are employee: “Biff
vegetarians has a tattoo of an
• minor premise: anchor on his
Bessie is a tortoise arm. He
• conclusion: probably served
Therefore, Bessie in the Navy.”
is a vegetarian
sample “Venn diagram”
of a deductive argument

vegetarian animals tortoises

All tortoises Thus, Bessie
fall in the must be a
circle of vegetarian
animals that
are
vegetarians

Bessie falls into the circle

of animals that are
tortoises
Bessie
 Other types of deductive arguments

•Suppose every place in A. all wooden houses are

the world that people live found in Canada
is represented by the blue B. Everyone lives in a
space inside the wooden house
rectangle. Suppose the C. Some Canadians live
long pink oval represents in wooden houses
all the wooden houses in D. No one lives in Canada
the world. And, suppose
the green circle
represents Canada. The
most logical conclusion
one can draw from the
figure is:
 Other types of
deductive arguments
• Suppose the following
statements are all true: A. Person L is taller than J
– Person L is shorter than B. Person X is taller than J
person X
C. Person J is taller than L
– Person Y is shorter than
person L D. Person J is taller than M
– Person M is shorter than E. Person M is taller than Y
person Y
• What additional piece Solution: Answer C
of information would be M<Y<L<X
required to conclude So, if J is taller than L,
that “Person Y is Y must be shorter than J
shorter than Person J”?
 Other types of Deductive Arguments
A mother wants to order one
large pizza, with exactly 5
toppings for her three picky
children. She can choose from
7 toppings; cheese, mushrooms,
olives, ham, sausage, onions,
and pineapple.
– Fifi says there has to be
pineapple
– Mona says there cannot be
any olives
– Rex says that if there is going
to be sausage, then there
has to be ham too.
Which combination of
toppings should she
select if she is to
satisfy all three
children’s combined
demands?
A. pineapple, onions,
cheese, mushrooms,
sausage
B. cheese, sausage, ham,
olives, pineapple
C. cheese, mushrooms,
ham, onions, pineapple
D. sausage, mushrooms,
onions, cheese, and
ham.
the five topping solution
cheese mushroo olive ham sausage onio pineappl
m n e

Fifi Yes

Mona No

Rex then if
ham sausag
e

Note: the statement “if sausage, then ham” doesn’t imply

“If ham then sausage.” The obverse doesn’t necessarily
follow.
 Deduction Versus Induction
---continued
• Deductive reasoning is
either “valid” or “invalid.” A
deductive argument can’t
be “sort of” valid.
• If the reasoning employed
in an argument is valid and
the argument’s premises
are true, then the argument
is said to be sound.
valid reasoning + true
premises = sound fallacious
argument
• Inductive reasoning
enjoys a wide range of
probability; it can be
plausible, possible,
reasonable, credible,
etc.
• the inferences drawn
may be placed on a
continuum ranging from
cogent at one end to
fallacious at the other.
cogent
 Deduction Versus Induction
• Deductive reasoning is
commonly found in the
natural sciences or “hard”
sciences, less so in
everyday arguments
• Occasionally, everyday
arguments do involve
deductive reasoning:
Example: “Two or more
persons are required to drive
in the diamond lane. You
don’t have two or more
persons. Therefore you may
not drive in the diamond lane”
• Inductive reasoning is
found in the courtroom,
the boardroom, the
classroom, and
throughout the media
• Most, but not all everyday
arguments are based on
induction
Examples: The
“reasonable person”
standard in civil law, and
the “beyond a reasonable
doubt” standard in
criminal law
Riddle
The situation
• There are 5 houses in five different colors.
• In each house lives a person with a different
nationality.
• These five owners drink a certain type of
beverage, smoke a certain brand of cigar
and keep a certain pet.
• No owners have the same pet, smoke the
same brand of cigar or drink the same
beverage.
• The question is: Who owns the fish?
Hints
• the Brit lives in the red house
• the Swede keeps dogs as pets
• the Dane drinks tea
• the green house is on the left of the white house
• the green house's owner drinks coffee
• the person who smokes Pall Mall rears birds
• the owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhill
• the man living in the center house drinks milk
• the Norwegian lives in the first house
• the man who smokes blends lives next to the one who keeps cats
• the man who keeps horses lives next to the man who smokes Dunhill
• the owner who smokes Blue Master drinks beer
• the German smokes Prince
• the Norwegian lives next to the blue house
• the man who smokes blend has a neighbor who drinks water
Einstein wrote this riddle this century. He said that 98% of the world
could not solve it.