University of North Carolina Wilmington



Practice

Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

Martin Kozloff

 Sir John Bagot Glubb (born 16 April 1897, died 17 March 1986) examined 11 examples of empires that no longer existed. Why had they disappeared? That is, what factors predicted or went along with their disappearance?

The Fate of Empires and Search for Survival

He used inductive reasoning: He

1. Examined each example and identified its features. Basically a list of facts.

2. Compared and contrasted examples to identify how they were the same and how they were

different. Basically, he compared and contrasted facts on each example.

3. Figured out (reasoned) that the ways they were the same was probably WHY they all no

longer existed, and the ways they were different (e.g., time in history, size, culture, political

system) was probably not the cause of why they no longer existed.

4. Stated his conclusions as generalizations about the whole class of 11 former empires.

a. Empires have a period of greatness that lasts about 250 years. Categorical rule.

Things that are civilizations are in the class of things that last about 250 years.

b. Empires rise and fall through a sequence of 6 stages. Categorical rule.

c. The six stages of empires are:…. List.

d. Period in history, geography, language, size, religion, and political system do not cause

the decline of civilizations. Causal rule.

e. The features of a civilization in the stage of decadence are:….. List.

f. Whenever civilizations are characterized by a long a period of wealth and power,

selfishness love of money, and the loss of a sense of duty, they enter the stage of

decadence. Causal rule.

Here are the eleven former civilizations.

|Civilizations |Common Features |

|Assyria 859-612 B.C. 247 |Average length of national greatness is 250 years. |

|Persia 538-330 B.C. 208 | |

|(Cyrus and his descendants) |The stages of the rise and fall of great nations seem to be: |

|Greece 331-100 B.C. 231 |The Age of Pioneers (outburst) |

|(Alexander and his successors) |The Age of Conquests |

|Roman Republic 260-27 B.C. 233 |The Age of Commerce |

|Roman Empire 27 B.C.-A.D. 180 207 |The Age of Affluence |

|Arab Empire A.D. 634-880 246 |The Age of Intellect |

|Mameluke Empire 1250-1517 267 |The Age of Decadence. |

|Ottoman Empire 1320-1570 250 |a. Decadence is marked by: |

|Spain 1500-1750 250 |Defensiveness |

|Romanov Russia 1682-1916 234 |Pessimism |

|Britain 1700-1950 250 |Materialism |

| |Frivolity |

|The Fate Of Empires and Search For Survival |An influx of foreigners |

|Sir John Glubb. William Blackwood & Sons Ltd. |The Welfare State |

|Edinburgh, Scotland |A weakening of religion. |

|© J. B. G. Ltd, 1976, 1977 |b. Decadence follows |

| |Too long a period of wealth and power |

| |Selfishness |

| |Love of money |

| |The loss of a sense of duty. |

| | |

So, using inductive reasoning, we go from things that are particular to knowledge statements that are general (about the particulars—lists, categorical connections, causal connections).

What about deductive reasoning. Using deductive reasoning, we go from knowledge statements that are general to predictions about things that are particular.

If X, then Y. If it is a civilization, it will go through 6 stages.

America is a civilization.

Therefore….

If X, then Y. If a civilization is characterized by defensiveness, pessimism, materialism, frivolity, an influx of foreigners, the Welfare State, and a weakening of religion, then it is in the stage of decadence.

America is (?) characterized by…

Therefore, America is (?)

If X, then Y. When a civilization is in the stage of decadence, it is in its last stage.

America is in the stage f decadence (?).

Therefore….

What is flerp? Here are examples of flerp. Flerp is embedded in examples. But what flerp is (what feature of examples is flerp) is not clear because examples are ambiguous. Any example that contains the essential ingredient of flerp also has other NONessential features. And examples themselves do not tell you. So, if a teacher says, “This is flerp,” which of the features in the example does the word flerp point to? So, the teacher uses many examples and some NONexamples so that the learning mechanism can use it routine of inductive reasoning to figire out (induce) the feature that makes an example flerp and that makes a nonexample not flerp.

Here we go...

|Steps in instruction. |What the learning mechanism does. Make your own thoughts explicit. |

| |How are you trying to figure out what flerp is? |

|1. This is flerp. (/’_ | |

| | |

|2. This is flerp. &*)’_ | |

| | |

|3. This is flerp. \*^#( | |

| | |

|4. This is NOT flerp. \’^# | |

| | |

|5. This is NOT flerp. _&\* | |

| | |

|6. This IS flerp. _&\*) | |

| | |

|7. This IS flerp. /’(^# | |

| | |

|So, what is flerp? | |

What was the logical process by which you figured it out, or induced the generalization: Flerp is……..?

Did you compare examples called flerp and find the one thing that was always there?

“Whenever it’s called flerp, there is………”

Did you compare examples of NOT flerp and find the one thing that was not there?

“Whenever it’s called NOT flerp, there is NOT….”

Did you contrast juxtaposed (next to each other) examples of flerp and not flerp (3 and 4; 5 and 6), and identify the one thing that was different?

“Flerp must be whatever is always there when it’s called flerp and

what’s NOT there when it’s called NOT flerp. Therefore, flerp is…..”

Summarize what the learning mechanism does---the logical operations called inductive reasoning--- to induce what flerp is from the examples and nonexamples.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

What are the implications for instruction?

1. Examples should ______________________________________________so comparison

reveals the ways they are the _____________.

2. Nonexamples should be just like examples in the ____________________________ features,

but should be missing the _______________________________ features.

3. Examines and nonexamples should be____________________so students can compare and

contrast, and identify the difference that makes the ________________.

Can some of these operations be taught as pre-skills? MUST some of them be taught or strengthened in some kids? If so, how?

Can the whole routine of inductive reasoning be taught AS a routine? How?

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