Basic Logical

Asst. Prof. Dr.

Concepts
Ahmad Fahmi
&
Inductive
Reasoning
 Before we Premises: provide
support for conclusions
start..
Components
of
Conclusions: If the
Arguments: premises are true and
the argument is valid,
then the conclusion
must be true.
 Premises • The petrol prices Conclusion
are going to rise.
and
• The new
conclusions government is Premise
can appear concerned about
in any order the price hike.
• Higher global oil
price rates Premise
contribute to
price hike.
Sherlock
Holmes
• A dog was kept in the stables.
(premise)
• Someone had been in and fetched a
horse. (premise)
• The dog did not bark. (premise)
• [Dog’s bark at strangers.] (implied
premise)
• Obviously, the visitor was someone
whom the dog knew well. (conclusion)
What are Are the premises true?

we
concerned
with?

Do the premises provide good

reasons to accept the conclusion?
 If all cats are made of cheese cake,
then you will pass your exam with
many A’s. (Premise 1)

All cats are made of cheese cake.

(Premise 2)

Take this
argument: Therefore you will score your exam.
(Conclusion)

Even though premise 1 & 2 are

incorrect, yet they still provide a
good reason to accept the
conclusion.
 All classes attended
by Dr Fahmi are fun.
(Premise 1)

How Dr Fahmi attends

about this class for critical
thinking. (Premise 2)
one?
Therefore, critical
thinking class is a fun
class. (Conclusion)
Now, consider these two arguments.
Which of the two is valid?
• All human beings are • All apples are delicious.
mortal. (premise) (premise)
• Nick Fury is a human • This is an apple.
being. (premise) (premise)
• So, Nick Fury is mortal. • So, this is delicious.
(conclusion) (conclusion)
But it’s obviously
not true that any
particular apple
is going to be
delicious. It
could be a bad
apple.
Remember: Valid
does not mean
sound
• Most of the time, we are interested
in sound arguments, not just valid
ones.
• If a valid argument has false
premises, it may not provide logical
support for the conclusion.
• In order for an argument to support
its conclusion, it must be sound.
• So, we need a theory of truth in
order to assess the truth of
premises.
Examples:
Valid but not sound Valid and Sound
• All cows drink water. • All oaks are trees.
• Dr Fahmi drinks water. • All trees are plants.
• So, Dr Fahmi is a cow? • So, all oaks are plants.
 Deductive –
Inescapable logic

Inductive Inductive – Conclusion

is plausible with the
vs given premises (but not
necessarily true)
Deductive

We are going to focus

on inductive 1st
 Inductive Reasoning,
involves going from a
series of specific cases
to a general statement.
The conclusion in an
inductive argument is
never guaranteed.

Example: What is the next

number in the sequence
6, 13, 20, 27,…
There is more than one
correct answer.

Inductive Reasoning
Inductive Reasoning

• Here’s the sequence again 6, 13, 20, 27,…

• Look at the difference of each term.
• 13 – 6 = 7, 20 – 13 = 7, 27 – 20 = 7
• Thus the next term is 34, because 34 – 27 = 7.
• However what if the sequence represents the
dates. Then the next number could be 3 (31 days
in a month).
• The next number could be 4 (30 day month)
• Or it could be 5 (29 day month – Feb. Leap year)
• Or even 6 (28 day month – Feb.)
 Inductive generalization

Predictive argument
Common
patterns Augment from authority

in
inductive Causal argument

reasoning Statistical argument

Argument from analogy

 • Drawing a
generalization as a likely
conclusion from
observations
• Example: All pizzas sold
in Malaysia have
cheese. Therefore any
pizzas found in Malaysia
will have cheese on
them.
• Generalization is made
based on common
observations.

Inductive
generalization
 • Basically it is an argument that has, as a conclusion,
a prediction.
Predictive • Prediction: a statement which what will happen in
the future
argument • Example: All young millionaires are men. Therefore,
next young millionaire is also a man.
Augment from
authority
• Citing some presumed
authority and witness
• Example: Wikipedia
says that men are
smart and gentle.
Therefore it is most
likely that TSMY is
smart and gentle.
 • Asserts something is the
cause of something
else.
• Example: There is a
smoking bullet shell on
the floor of this class,
someone must have
been bringing a gun to
the class.

Causal argument
 • This is a straight forward argument, used by
most of the empirical researchers.
Statistical • Example: 90% of the total university’s
argument students are women. Sajat is a student from
a local university. Therefore?
Argument from
analogy
• Using inference from similar
situation.
• Example: System of A Down is an
amazing band and they have a great
drummer. Linkin Park is an amazing
band too. Linkin Park probably has
a great drummer.
Test your Induction Capability
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