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Deductive Reasoning Examples

Deductive reasoning is a form of valid reasoning that draws conclusions from general premises to specific instances. It involves establishing relationships between premises through linear logic to derive a conclusion that necessarily follows from the premises. Examples of deductive reasoning include premises that all oranges are fruits, all fruits grow on trees, therefore all oranges grow on trees. The validity of deductive reasoning relies on having true premises, as an invalid or unsound argument with one or more false premises will result in a faulty conclusion not supported by the original information.

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512 views2 pages

Deductive Reasoning Examples

Deductive reasoning is a form of valid reasoning that draws conclusions from general premises to specific instances. It involves establishing relationships between premises through linear logic to derive a conclusion that necessarily follows from the premises. Examples of deductive reasoning include premises that all oranges are fruits, all fruits grow on trees, therefore all oranges grow on trees. The validity of deductive reasoning relies on having true premises, as an invalid or unsound argument with one or more false premises will result in a faulty conclusion not supported by the original information.

Uploaded by

Trisha Meneses
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Deductive Reasoning Examples

Examples of deductive reasoning help a person understand this type of reasoning better. Given below
are a few examples that explain this concept clearly...

What is Deductive Reasoning?


Deductive reasoning is one of the two basic forms of valid reasoning, the other one being inductive
reasoning. The main difference between these two types of reasoning is that, inductive reasoning
argues from a specific to a general base whereas deductive reasoning goes from a general to a
specific instance. Also, deductive reasoning, unlike inductive reasoning, is something that is based on
a premise and then follows accordingly. Inductive and deductive arguments differ with regard to the
standards of evaluation that are applicable to them. Thus, deductive reasoning is the method by which
conclusions are drawn on the basis of proofs and not merely by assuming or thinking about a
predetermined clause. The basic principle on which deductive reasoning is based is:

All X are Y (premise)


All Y are Z (premise)
Hence, all X are Z (conclusion)

Similar relationships can be established by following a liner logic wherein one premise follows up on
the other. Deductive arguments can only be valid or invalid, or true or false, because the statement
that is derived may be true but in the context of the derived conclusion, it may not be valid. A
deductive argument can be valid only if the conclusion necessarily follows from the premises given. If
the conclusion is incorrect, then one of the premises must be faulty. A valid deductive argument with
true premises is said to be sound, that is, a deductive argument which is invalid or has one or more
false premises or both, are said to be unsound. An argument is valid when both the premises are true
and the conclusion that is derived from them cannot be false.

Examples of Deductive Reasoning


Given below are a few examples that will help you understand this concept better:

All oranges are fruits


All fruits grow on trees
Therefore, all oranges grow on trees

All bachelors are single


Johnny is single,
Hence, Johnny is a bachelor

Sometimes, deductive reasoning can be established even without the help of syllogisms. 

For example:
Everyday I go to work. This journey from my home to my office takes one hour. My office starts at
eight o' clock in the morning. So, if I leave my home at seven o' clock in the morning, I will reach
office in time.

There are also chances of deductive reasoning examples that go from specific to general. These are
rare and generally have a lot of premises, each of which follow up on the previous one. Given below is
one such example:

The members of Hassling family are Betty, Aaron and Lucas.


Betty is thin
Aaron is thin
Lucas is thin
Therefore, all members of the Hassling family are thin

With the help of these examples, you must have understood what deductive reasoning is. It may seem
simple, but it can go wrong in ways more than one. When deductive reasoning leads to a faulty
conclusion, the reason is often that the premise given was faulty. Thus, the premises used in
deductive reasoning are in many ways the most important part of the entire process of deductive
reasoning, as was proved by the help of the above given deductive reasoning examples. Thus, if they
are wrong, the entire foundation of the whole line of reasoning is faulty and thus, the conclusions
derived will also be faulty. However, at times, even if the logic is not executed properly, the conclusion
may be wrong. So to minimize the chances of this mistake from happening, it is best to not assume
anything and to only accept what has been mentioned.
By Dr. Sumaiya Khan
Published: 4/30/2010

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