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Logic

Look at this inference: Premise 1: All desks have the same color. Premise 2: That desk is brown. Conclusion: All desks are brown. Now, I understand that this is a deduction. However, the conclusion is a generalization of one of the premises, and generalizations of premises are what one would expect in induction. Where did I go wrong?
Accepted:
August 11, 2008

Comments

Peter Smith
August 12, 2008 (changed August 12, 2008) Permalink

True: In any situation in which both premisses are true, the conclusion has to be true too. So the displayed inference is deductively valid. [There are possible wrinkles here, but let's ignore them.]

Also true: Inferring the conclusion from the second proposition alone would be be an inductive inference, and a very bad one at that.

The first is a fact about the given two-premiss inference; the second is a fact about a different one-premiss inference. So there is no conflict there!

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