REASONING

INFERENCE
is an act of justifying something done
is a mental activity wherein the mind
proceeds to the certain knowledge or
certain establishment of another truth
through inferential process

REASONING
inferential thinking is a composite of premises
wherein the unknown can be inferred
what is inferred is the conclusion
it begins with what we know called “the
known”
an inference therefore, is a process of drawing
a conclusion from a premise
judgment is reached indirectly through a third
idea or the middle term or through a series of
third related ideas

INFERENCE
an inferential link is the logical relationship between
the premise and the conclusion
this is also known as logical necessity or logical force

Example:

Major premise: Philanthropist is a lover of charity

Minor Premise: But some generous people are
philanthropists
Conclusion: Therefore, Some generous people are
lovers of charity.

INFERENCE
the following inference is fallacious because
there is no sequence (inferential link)

Major premise: Every angel is an

immaterial creature
Minor Premise: But cherubim’s are angels
Conclusion: Therefore, Seraphim’s are
immaterial creatures

INFERENCE
Deduction – is an inferential process
wherein the mind concludes with certainty
from a universal/general
principle/knowledge/judgment, to the
particular (specific). The premises contain
conclusive evidence for the truth of the
conclusion.

Methods of Inference
Induction – is an inferential thinking that
concludes from individual, or particular to
the universal. It claims that its premises
furnish only some amount of probability
but not certainty to its conclusion.

Methods of Inference
EXAMPLES:

Deduction:
All influenza is caused by infection;
This disease is influenza;
It is caused by infection

Induction:
Students A, B, C…X, Y and Z are present;
Students A, B, C…X, Y and Z are all members of the class;
All members of the class are present.

Methods of Inference
Immediate Inference
springs directly from a single premise to a
conclusion without the mediation of any
other premise
a conclusion is drawn from a single
premise
the given proposition is called the premise
and the proposition deduced or inferred
from it is called the conclusion

Kinds of Inference
Mediate Inference
the inferential process passes from one
proposition to another through a medium
it is called the middle term or another
proposition
there is not only a new proposition but a
new truth which is drawn by the mind
from the first proposition through a
medium

Kinds of Inference
Mediate Inference
it is a mental process, it exists only in the
mind
to represent the argument existing in the
mind, it must be expressed by a syllogism
◦ is an external representation of an argument
◦ it is a series of propositions; first, Major Premise;
second, Minor Premise; third, the Conclusion
◦ the conclusion is necessarily derived from the
two given premises

Kinds of Inference
CategoricalSyllogism
Hypothetical Syllogism
Other Forms of Syllogism
◦ Enthymeme
◦ Sorites
◦ Dilemma
◦ Epichereme
◦ Polysyllogism

Kinds of Syllogism