Reasoning Patterns Vocabulary

reasoning from general premises to a logically certain conclusion

“Deduction guarantees truth if the premises are true.”

inferring general principles from specific observations

“Induction from past sunrises suggests tomorrow's sun will rise.”

inferring the best explanation for observed evidence

“Abduction: the ground is wet, so it probably rained.”

drawing conclusions based on similarities between cases

“Analogical reasoning from atoms to solar systems guided early physics.”

considering what would happen if something were different

“Counterfactual thinking: 'If I had left earlier, I wouldn't be late.'”

a sequence of reasoning steps leading to a conclusion

“The inference chain broke down at the third step.”

if P then Q; P is true; therefore Q is true

“Modus ponens: if it rains, streets are wet; it rained; streets are wet.”

if P then Q; Q is false; therefore P is false

“Modus tollens: if it rained, streets are wet; streets are dry; it didn't rain.”

a form of deductive reasoning with two premises and a conclusion

“All men are mortal; Socrates is a man; therefore Socrates is mortal.”

a mental shortcut that enables quick but imperfect judgments

“The availability heuristic judges frequency by ease of recall.”

accepting a good-enough option rather than seeking the optimal one

“Satisficing saves time when optimization costs exceed benefits.”

if A relates to B and B relates to C, then A relates to C

“Transitivity: if A > B and B > C, then A > C.”