ENGC44H3 Final: HUM Chapter Notes for final exam.docx
Document Summary
Deductive argument is intended to provide logically conclusive support for its conclusion; such an argument is valid or invalid, sound or unsound. Inductive argument is intended to supply only probable support for its conclusion, strong if it succeeds and weak if it fails. The conclusion of an inductively strong argument is simply more likely to be true than not. If the argument"s premises are true, it is said to be cogent. Unlike valid deductive arguments, an inductively strong argument cannot guarantee that the conclusion is true but it can render the conclusion probably true, even highly likely to be true. Inductive arguments, cannot give us certainly but they can give us high levels of probability. Inductive reasoning gives us most of what we know about the empirical workings of the world, allowing us in science to soar reliably from what we know to what we don"t. Inductive arguments come in several forms (4) including enumerative, analogical and casual.
