Validity and Invalidity, Soundness and Unsoundness Show
The task of an argument is to provide statements (premises) that give evidence for the conclusion. There are two basic kinds of arguments. Deductive argument: involves the claim that the truth of its premises guarantees the truth of its conclusion; the terms valid and invalid are used to characterize deductive arguments. A deductive
argument succeeds when, if you accept the evidence as true (the premises), you must accept the conclusion. Valid: an argument is valid if and only if it is necessary that if all of the premises are true, then the conclusion is true; if all the premises
are true, then the conclusion must be true; it is impossible that all the premises are true and the conclusion is false. Validity and invalidity apply only to arguments, not statements. For
our purposes, it is just nonsense to call a statement valid or invalid. True and false apply only to statements, not arguments. For our purposes, it is just nonsense to call an argument true or false. All deductive arguments aspire to validity. Sound: an argument is sound if and only if it is valid and contains only true premises. IV. Forms of Argument Published on January 20, 2022 by Pritha Bhandari. Revised on December 5, 2022. Deductive reasoning is a logical approach where you progress from general ideas to specific conclusions. It’s often contrasted with inductive reasoning, where you start with specific observations and form general conclusions. Deductive reasoning is also called deductive logic or top-down reasoning. Deductive reasoning is often confused with inductive reasoning. However, in inductive reasoning, you draw conclusions by going from the specific to the general. What is deductive reasoning?In deductive reasoning, you’ll often make an argument for a certain idea. You make an inference, or come to a conclusion, by applying different premises. A premise is a generally accepted idea, fact, or rule, and it’s a statement that lays the groundwork for a theory or general idea. Conclusions are statements supported by premises. TipDue to its reliance on inference, deductive reasoning is at high risk for research biases, particularly confirmation bias and other types of cognitive bias like belief bias. It can be tempting to seek out or prefer information that supports your inferences or ideas, but be careful about bias creeping into your research.Deductive logic argumentsIn a simple deductive logic argument, you’ll often begin with a premise, and add another premise. Then, you form a conclusion based on these two premises. This format is called “premise-premise-conclusion.” Examples: Deductive logic arguments
Validity and soundnessValidity and soundness are two criteria for assessing deductive reasoning arguments. ValidityIn this context, validity is about the way the premises relate to each other and the conclusion. This is a different concept from research validity. An argument is valid if the premises logically support and relate to the conclusion. But the premises don’t need to be true for an argument to be valid. Examples: Valid (but untrue) deductive argumentsExample 1
Example 2
Both of these arguments are valid. Even though the premises are completely made up, they relate to each other in a way where you can justifiably infer the conclusion. In an invalid argument, your premises can be true but that doesn’t guarantee a true conclusion. Your conclusion may inadvertently be true, but your argument can still be invalid because your conclusion doesn’t logically follow from the relationship between the statements. Examples: Invalid deductive argumentsExample 1
Example 2
Both of these are invalid because the truth of the premises doesn’t necessarily lead you to a true conclusion. You end up with a correct conclusion in the second example, but both arguments take the same invalid format. SoundnessAn argument is sound only if it’s valid and the premises are true. All invalid arguments are unsound. If you begin with true premises and a valid argument, you’re bound to come to a true conclusion. Examples: Sound deductive reasoningExample 1
Example 2
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See an example Deductive reasoning in researchDeductive reasoning is commonly used in scientific research, and it’s especially associated with quantitative research. In research, you might have come across something called the hypothetico-deductive method. It’s the scientific method of testing hypotheses to check whether your predictions are substantiated by real-world data. This method is used for academic as well as non-academic research. Example: Deductive research problemYou work as an organizational researcher at a large insurance organization. Currently, the organization is dealing with increasing levels of employee burnout, and you’re tasked with finding a solution to this problem.Here are the general steps for deductive research:
Importantly, your hypotheses should be falsifiable. If they aren’t, you won’t be able to determine whether your results support them or not. Example: Deductive research approachYou predict that going from a five-day work week to a four-day work week (without any reduction in pay) will help reduce or prevent burnout by improving employee well-being.You formulate your main hypothesis: Switching to a four-day work week will improve employee well-being. Your null hypothesis states that there’ll be no difference in employee well-being before and after the change. You collect data on employee well-being through quantitative surveys on a monthly basis before and after the change. When analyzing the data, you note a 25% increase in employee well-being after the change in work week. Using a statistical test, you find that your results show statistical significance. You reject your null hypothesis and conclude that your results support your main hypothesis. Deductive vs. inductive reasoningDeductive reasoning is a top-down approach, while inductive reasoning is a bottom-up approach. In deductive reasoning, you start with general ideas and work toward specific conclusions through inferences. Based on theories, you form a hypothesis. Using empirical observations, you test that hypothesis using inferential statistics and form a conclusion. Inductive reasoning is also called a hypothesis-generating approach, because you start with specific observations and build toward a theory. It’s an exploratory method that’s often applied before deductive research. In practice, most research projects involve both inductive and deductive methods. Frequently asked questions about deductive reasoningCite this Scribbr articleIf you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.
Is this article helpful?You have already voted. Thanks :-) Your vote is saved :-) Processing your vote... What is the process of drawing a conclusion based on premises that are generally assumed to be true?Deductive reasoning is drawing conclusions based on premises generally assumed to be true. Also called "deductive logic," it uses a logical assumption to reach a logical conclusion.
What is an argument or reasoning process in which the conclusion follows from the premises with logical necessity?Hence, When the conclusion of an argument follows from its premises necessarily, the argument is called a deductive argument.
When the conclusion follows from the premises the argument is?2. The conclusion follows logically from the premises. Definition: An argument is valid if its conclusion follows logically from its premises — if it is impossible for the premises all to be true, but for the conclusion to be false.
What is the type of argument whose conclusion follows necessarily from its premises?Validity and soundness of deductive arguments
A deductive argument is said to be valid if the truthfulness of the premises necessitates that the conclusion be true. A deductive argument is said to be sound if the premises are true.
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