Answer to Question #106997 in Philosophy for Shayleen

Question

explain enumerative inductive inferences, in detail. Explain where you might see these arguments being used and why they are important in critical thinking. Give examples of enumerative inductive inferences, explaining why they are inductive and not deductive or abductive.

Answer 1

Enumerative induction is the basic form of inductive inference, simply induction, reasons from particular instances to all instances, and is thus an unrestricted generalization. If one observes 100 swans, and all 100 were white, one might infer a universal categorical proposition of the form All swans are white. These arguments science might be used as the opportunity to generate and test increasingly complex and abstract hypotheses and theories in a hypothetico-deductive manner. In this way students can be expected to become increasingly conscious of their underlying hypothetico-deductive thought processes, increasingly skilled in their application, and hence increasingly scientifically literate.