Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

PART 1

Agenda
Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

Notes and Practice

Fallacious Reasoning

Notes, examples, practice

Exit Slip
**Turn in TWM notespages 100-150**

Group Activity
There are 10 items on your handout.
As a group, sort these items into a minimum of 3 groups so that each groups has something specific in
common. Then, right a claim about the rule used to sort them.
We will share out once you are finished.

Example

The dog on the left looks aggressive

The pug looks silly
The cartoon dog in the center has big, goofy eyes and looks sweet
The dog on the far right is scary
Two of the dogs have sharp, pointy collars and it makes them look aggressive.

Sorted:

Reasoning: The dogs on the left look mean, the dogs on the right look calm.

Inductive Reasoning
What you just did is called inductive reasoning.
You made observations about the objects.
You sorted your evidence based on commonalities.
You made a claim based on what they had in common.
Inductive reasoning is often displayed on television.

Law and Order

CSI
Criminal Minds
House: lets see it in action

Inductive Reasoning Continued

Inductive Reasoning means taking your observations, analyzing them (how are they similar, how are
they different), and making a claim.
This is a Bottom-Up Approach
4 stages to Inductive Reasoning:

Observation: collect fact without bias

Analysis: identify patterns within the observations
Inference: make generalizations about the patterns you noticed
Confirmation: test the claim through further observations

Inductive Reasoning Pros and Cons

PROS:

CONS:

These arguments can be very convincing

They often lead to false or inaccurate claims

Number of examples

Overgeneralizations

Types of examples (personal, hypothetical, realworld)

Assuming a sequence that is not true

Example: if A=B and B=C then A=C

All ghosts are imaginary. All unicorns are imaginary.

Therefore, all ghosts are unicorns.

Just because they are both imaginary things, it does

not mean that ghosts can only be unicorns

Deductive Reasoning
Deductive Reasoning is arriving at a conclusion by applying a general principle, or claim, to a specific
situation.
This is a Top-Down Approach.
Example:
General Principle: Any student caught cheating will be suspended.
Specific Situation: Billy Bob was caught cheating.
Conclusion: Billy Bob will be suspended.

Deductive Sort
Using the items on your sheet, sort them DEDUCTIVELY using the following claim:
Different jobs require different tools.

Results:
You likely ended up with all of the office supplies grouped together, all of the tools and construction
objects together, and the hairbrush and scissors together.

Deductive Reasoning Pros and Cons

PROS

CONS

If the argument is believed to be true, the evidence supports

the claim and makes it stronger (more valid and sound).

If the argument is false to begin with, no amount of evidence

is going to convince your audience.

Example: The weather in Iowa is unpredictable in the

spring. You should pack both shorts and sweaters
when visiting. It was 35 degrees and snowing on
Monday and 68 degrees and sunny on Tuesday.

If the audience accepts the validity of the statement

(the weather is unpredictable), the evidence reinforces
it.

Example: The police are ineherintly truthful. They

said John committed the crime. John is guilty.

Perhaps not everyone finds the police truthful.

Therefore, the evidence presented is not going to
make them change their mind.

Fallacious Reasoning
PART II

Fallacious Reasoning
(fles) adj:
1. (Logic) containing or involving a fallacy; illogical; erroneous
2. Tending to mislead
3. Delusive or disappointing

In other words, fallacious reasoning contains an argument or content that is illogical, misleading, or false.
There are nearly 100 types of fallaciesfar too many to coverbut the idea remains the same: logical fallacies are
generally used to intentionally mislead and thereby convince someone of their argument through distortion, evasion, or
distraction. However, an intelligent listener can detect these ideas fallacies and will not be persuaded.

Examples

Sweeping Generalization: applying a general statement too broadly

Appeal to Force: an attempt to persuade using threats/power

Poisoning the Well: persuade audience by presenting unfavorable information about the other side

Shameful Argument: appealing to an authority in one field regarding something in another field in which the authority has no more
knowledge than anyone else

Hypothesis Contrary to Fact: offering a poorly supported claim about what might have happened in the past or future if circumstances
were different

Appeal to Ignorance: attempt to use an audiences inability to disprove a conclusion (You cant prove otherwise, so Im right).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNgnYl2HyFk

Activity
Work through the examples on the fallacious reasoning hand out. You may work with a partner, but
everyone needs to fill out the sheet.

Exit Slip:
Write your name on the post-it then communicate your understanding of fallacious reasoning:
If you think you totally get it, label it joke and tell me one. Make it good (and clean).
If you mostly get it, draw me an emoji that represents your understanding.
If youre totally lost, give me a song lyric or draw me a comic that epitomizes your confusion.