As children, we tend to know what’s happening in someone’s life and have knowledge about the world around us. But with formal deductive reasoning, we’re usually more concerned with what’s happened and what can happen and not much about how it might happen. We also don’t need to know everything about the world around us, and so, informal inductive reasoning is less useful in solving practical problems.
There is one good reason for this. Informal reasoning tends to be vague and imprecise, and it may give false information to the subject at hand, and thus to the person giving the argument. It also gives wrong answers to questions because it doesn’t make use of the proper information, so the subject might not even believe it’s true, or the conclusion drawn might be totally inaccurate. Informational reasoning is therefore usually used to give answers to factual questions or to support claims about the world around us.
On the other hand, formal deduction does tend to be more precise, but is also a little too precise in certain cases. For example, if someone gives an argument against the hypothesis, “All girls wear pink,” there may not be sufficient evidence to support the conclusion drawn. And the conclusion drawn might not be completely accurate because of other factors. A more precise approach would be to say, “Pink is a girls’ favorite color.”
Formal logic is generally more precise, because the assumptions are usually made explicit. This gives a more precise answer to the question asked. Informal logic is often less accurate because it is not explicit, and it may not make use of the right data or the right details. This can lead to wrong conclusions in some cases.
Both formal logic and informal logic can be useful in helping us to reason about many other subjects, including legal or political issues, philosophy, science, ethics, economics, religion and more. Even though they seem similar, they are quite different in their processes and are not necessarily interchangeable.
Logical reasoning involves the application of deductive rules, and inductive reasoning involves the application of inductive principles. To learn more about both types of reasoning, you should read books on logic and visit some websites and blogs related to reasoning.
Online Learning. You can also read the book written by Edward Proctor and Bertrand Russell, which are titled “Logic and Scientific Method.” There are many web sites that provide lessons and training for reasoning and other aspects of logic and inductive reasoning, and you can also consult some other resources like websites and blogs about inductive reasoning.
Formal Methods. There are a number of methods that are taught in colleges, and you can read the book titled “Procedure in Common Sense” by Donald Davidson.
Online Courses. You can learn to reason by taking a course in inductive reasoning or in formal logic. There are also some online courses on formal logic and inductive reasoning.
The best way to learn to reason is to study formal logic, inductive reasoning, and formal logic. Each type has its own advantages and disadvantages, so you will have to learn them individually and to decide which one is better for you.
You should practice logic at home. After you learn to reason by formal methods, you can then move on to practicing inductive reasoning or informal logic with friends or family members. Practicing both techniques together can help you understand and apply logic in your everyday life.
