Deductive and inductive methods express a fundamentally important feature of the learning process. It consists in the ability to reveal the logic of the content of the material. The use of these models represents the choice of a certain line of revealing the essence of the topic - from the general to the specific and vice versa. Let us next consider what the deductive and inductive methods are.
Meaning
The inductive method has a special place in scientific activities. It includes, first of all, the mandatory accumulation of experimental information. This information serves as the basis for further generalizations, formalized in the form of scientific hypotheses, classifications, and so on. At the same time, it should be noted that such techniques are often not enough. This is due to the fact that conclusions obtained during the accumulation of experience often turn out to be false when new facts arise. In this case, the inductive-deductive method is used. The limitations of the “from particular to general” model of study are also manifested in the fact that the information obtained with its help does not in itself act as necessary. In this regard, the inductive method must be complemented by comparison.
Example
A person decides that food is harmful. He completely refuses to eat. The sight and smell of food causes him to have panic attacks. The psyche stops coping and he cannot eat. In moments of emotional crises, aggression is typical; an eating disorder may be accompanied by bulimia or anorexia.
This phenomenon is called “fixation”. Deduction helps to cope with it. Treatment must be carried out under the supervision of a professional psychologist, preferably with experience in this form of deviation.
Classification
The inductive method can be complete. In this case, the conclusion is made based on the results of studying absolutely all subjects presented in a certain class. There is also incomplete induction. In this case, the general conclusion is the result of considering only some homogeneous phenomena or objects. Due to the fact that in the real world it is not possible to study all the facts, an incomplete inductive research method is used. The conclusions that are drawn in this case are of a probable nature. The reliability of inferences increases in the process of selecting a fairly large number of cases about which a generalization is made. Moreover, the facts themselves must be different and reflect not random, but essential properties of the object of study. If these conditions are met, you can avoid such common mistakes as hasty conclusions, confusing a simple sequence of events with cause-and-effect relationships between them, and so on.
Induction in the scientific community
The induction method requires a scrupulous attitude, since too much depends on the number of parts of the whole studied: the greater the number studied, the more reliable the result. Based on this feature, scientific laws obtained by induction are tested for a long time at the level of probabilistic assumptions to isolate and study all possible structural elements, connections and influences. In science, an inductive conclusion is based on significant features, with the exception of random provisions. This fact is important in connection with the specifics of scientific knowledge. This is clearly seen in the examples of induction in science.
There are two types of induction in the scientific world (in connection with the method of study):
- induction-selection (or selection);
- induction – exclusion (elimination).
The first type is distinguished by the methodical (scrupulous) selection of samples of a class (subclasses) from its different areas. An example of this type of induction is the following: silver (or silver salts) purifies water. The conclusion is based on many years of observations (a kind of selection of confirmations and refutations - selection). The second type of induction is based on conclusions that establish causal relationships and exclude circumstances that do not correspond to its properties, namely universality, adherence to temporal sequence, necessity and unambiguity.
Bacon's inductive method
It is presented in the work “New Organon”. Bacon was extremely dissatisfied with the state of science in his period. In this regard, he decided to update the methods of studying nature. Bacon believed that this would not only make existing sciences and arts reliable, but would also make it possible to discover new disciplines unknown to man. Many scientists noted the incompleteness and vagueness of the presentation of the concept. There is a common misconception that the inductive method in the New Organon is presented as a simple way of studying from specific, single experience to generally valid propositions. However, this model was used before the creation of this work. Bacon, in his concept, argued that no one could find the nature of an object in itself. The study needs to be expanded to the “general” scale. He explained this by the fact that elements hidden in some things can have a common and obvious nature in others.
Cons of induction
Inductive reasoning is limited to logical conclusions. The presence of similar features in the subject of study does not prove its authenticity. There must be several signs proving the truth of a phenomenon; only then can it be stated that it is true.
Using purely inductive reasoning makes conclusions implausible. Constructing thoughts in this way involves subsequent consideration of similar signs for their causes and combinations. The purpose of such an analysis is to obtain evidence of correct conclusions. They must meet the criteria of logic and rationalism.
Application of the model
The inductive method is quite widely used in school education. For example, a teacher, explaining what specific gravity is, takes different substances in the same volume for comparison and weighs them. In this case, incomplete induction takes place, since not all, but only some objects participate in the explanation. The model is also widely used in experimental (experimental) disciplines; The corresponding educational materials are built on its basis. Some clarification of terms is in order here. In the sentence, the word “experienced” is used as a characteristic of the empirical side of science, by analogy with such a concept as “prototype”. In this case, the sample did not gain experience, but participated in the experiment. The inductive method is used in lower grades. Children in elementary school get acquainted with various natural phenomena. This allows them to enrich their little experience and knowledge about the world around them. In high school, the information obtained in elementary school serves as the basis for the assimilation of generalizing data. The inductive method is used when it is necessary to show a pattern that is characteristic of all objects/phenomena of one category, but proof of it cannot yet be offered. The use of this model makes it possible to make a generalization obvious and convincing, to present the conclusion as arising from the studied facts. This will be a kind of proof of the pattern.
Induction from the position of philosophy
Looking back historically, the term “induction” was first mentioned by Socrates. Aristotle described examples of induction in philosophy in a more approximate terminological dictionary, but the question of incomplete induction remains open. After the persecution of Aristotelian syllogism, the inductive method began to be recognized as fruitful and the only possible one in natural science. Bacon is considered the father of induction as an independent special method, but he failed to separate induction from the deductive method, as his contemporaries demanded.
Induction was further developed by J. Mill, who considered the inductive theory from the perspective of four main methods: agreement, difference, residues and corresponding changes. It is not surprising that today the listed methods, when examined in detail, are deductive. The realization of the inconsistency of the theories of Bacon and Mill led scientists to study the probabilistic basis of induction.
However, even here there were some extremes: attempts were made to reduce induction to the theory of probability with all the ensuing consequences. Induction receives a vote of confidence through practical application in certain subject areas and thanks to the metric accuracy of the inductive basis.
An example of induction and deduction in philosophy can be considered the Law of Universal Gravitation. On the date of discovery of the law, Newton was able to verify it with an accuracy of 4 percent. And when checked more than two hundred years later, the correctness was confirmed with an accuracy of 0.0001 percent, although the verification was carried out by the same inductive generalizations. Modern philosophy pays more attention to deduction, which is dictated by the logical desire to derive new knowledge (or truths) from what is already known, without resorting to experience or intuition, but using “pure” reasoning. When referring to true premises in the deductive method, in all cases the output is a true statement.
This very important characteristic should not overshadow the value of the inductive method. Since induction, based on the achievements of experience, also becomes a means of processing it (including generalization and systematization).
Specifics
The weakness of induction is that it requires more time to consider new material. This learning model is less conducive to improving abstract thinking because it is based on concrete facts, experience, and other data. The inductive method should not become universal in teaching. According to modern trends, which involve an increase in the volume of theoretical information in educational programs and the introduction of appropriate study models, the importance of other logistical forms of presenting material is increasing. First of all, the role of deduction, analogy, hypothesis and others increases. The considered model is effective when the information is predominantly factual in nature or is associated with the formation of concepts, the essence of which can become clear only with such reasoning.
Dilemmas
Main article: Dilemma
A special type of inference from two and one.
Types of correct dilemmas:
constructive:
A⊃C,B⊃C,A∨BC{\displaystyle {\frac {A\supset C,B\supset C,A\lor B}{C}}}
(i.e.: first premise: if A, then C; second premise: if B, then C; third premise: A or B; conclusion: therefore C);
A⊃B,C⊃D,A∨CB∨D{\displaystyle {\frac {A\supset B,C\supset D,A\lor C}{B\lor D}}}(complex)
(i.e.: first premise: if A, then B; second premise: if C, then D; third premise: A or C; conclusion: therefore B or D);
destructive:
A⊃B,A⊃C,¬B∨¬C¬A{\displaystyle {\frac {A\supset B,A\supset C,\neg B\lor \neg C}{\neg A}}}
(i.e.: first premise: if A then B; second premise: if A then C; third premise: neither B nor not C; conclusion: therefore not A);
A⊃B,C⊃D,¬B∨¬D¬A∨¬C{\displaystyle {\frac {A\supset B,C\supset D,\neg B\lor \neg D}{\neg A\lor \neg C}}}(complex)
(i.e.: first premise: if A then B; second premise: if C then D; third premise: neither B nor D; conclusion: therefore not A or not C).
Deductio
The deductive method involves a transition from a general conclusion about an object of a certain class to private, individual knowledge about an individual object from this group. It can be used to predict events that have not yet occurred. The basis in this case is the general studied patterns. Deduction is widely used in proving, justifying, and testing assumptions and hypotheses. Thanks to her, the most important scientific discoveries were made. The deductive method plays a vital role in the formation of the logical orientation of thinking. It promotes the development of the ability to use known information in the process of mastering new material. Within the framework of deduction, each specific case is studied as a link in a chain, and their relationship is examined. This allows you to obtain data that goes beyond the initial conditions. Using this information, the researcher makes new conclusions. When the original objects are included in newly emerging connections, previously unknown properties of the objects are revealed. The deductive method promotes the application of acquired knowledge in practice, general theoretical principles, which are exclusively abstract in nature, to specific events that people encounter in life.
How to develop logical thinking
Psychologists recommend several ways to develop thinking:
- To solve problems. Mathematics is the most striking example of deduction and induction together. Solving problems allows you to distinguish truth from lies and teaches you to draw the right conclusions.
- New knowledge. It is recommended to read more; examples from books develop the thought form. A person builds interconnected chains of events in his head and trains the construction of logical conclusions.
- Accuracy. Achieve specificity in judgments and conclusions. Only precise formulations and specific conclusions give the concept of a true, reliable phenomenon.
- Development of flexibility of thinking. The experiences a person receives from life in general and from communication influence his judgment. A person with a narrow outlook is not able to construct many probabilities in the development of events or explain the phenomenon most fully.
- Observations. These constitute the internal experience of the individual. Based on observations, all conclusions in an individual’s life are drawn.
Psychological induction, in most cases, means the development of a disease in a person or his immersion in an abnormal state.
Literature
- Deduction // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.
- Great Soviet Encyclopedia
, ed. Prokhorov, A. M.; Baibakov, N. K.; Blagonravov, A. A. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978. - Kondakov N.I.
Logical dictionary-reference book. - M.: Nauka, 1975. - 720 p. - Ivlev Yu. V.
Textbook of logic: Semester course: Textbook. - M.: Delo, 2003. - 208 p. — ISBN 5-7749-0317-6. - Bocharov V. A., Markin V. I.
Fundamentals of Logic: Textbook. - M.: INFRA-M, 2001. - 296 p. — ISBN 5-16-000496-3. - Ionin L. G.
Sociology of culture: Textbook. - M.: State University Higher School of Economics, 2004. - 432 pp. - ISBN 5-7598-0252-6.
