Deductive Reasoning

Abstract

Deductive reasoning is a method that uses rules of logic to come to a conclusion about specific cases from premises about the general population to which the case belongs. When using deductive reasoning, we state a premise about the general population. If an individual is part of that population, we conclude that the premise also applies to that individual. Competing theories see deduction as based on factual knowledge, formal rules of inference, mental models, or a combination of two or all of these.