Question

Which of the following best describes the core principle of deductive method ?

• A. Building theory through repeated testing of hypotheses
• B. Drawing conclusions based solely on qualitative observations
• C. Moving from specific observation to border generalization s
• D. Starting with a general premise and deriving specific conclusions.

Answer 1

Answer:

D. Starting with a general premise and deriving specific conclusions.

Deductive reasoning involves:

1. Beginning with a broad, general statement or premise

2. Using logical rules and arguments to derive specific, narrower conclusions

3. Ensuring that the conclusions necessarily follow from the premise

• This approach is often summarized as "top-down" reasoning, where you start with a general idea and work your way down to specific, detailed conclusions.

Example: All humans are mortal. Socrates is human. Therefore, Socrates is mortal.

In this example, the general premise ("All humans are mortal") is used to derive a specific conclusion ("Socrates is mortal") through logical deduction.