Question

Bertha met two students from another school at a convention. She enjoyed their company a great deal and was very impressed with how nice they were. Bertha now believes that all of the students from that school must also be nice and is considering transferring there. Bertha is using _____.
inductive reasoning
deductive reasoning
critical thinking
descriptive reasoning

Answer 1

The correct answer is inductive reasoning

Inductive reasoning is present in our daily lives and also in many researches and theories in the different exact and human sciences. We base many of our actions and acquire many beliefs through an assessment of everyday situations. This procedure, however, does not start with manifestly true propositions and often leads us to error.

While deduction establishes truths, induction aims at rational or probable conclusions. This distinction is important, since the reasoning that starts from the contingent does not reach conclusions by logical implication. It would be impossible, for example, to deduce which of several candidates will be the most voted in an election - such an attempt would be mere supposition. What can be rationally accepted is to establish the probability of each candidate being elected, based on the opinions of voters.