Chapter 77 [Chapter VIII Sophistry in Inductive Reasoning] [Introduction]

Inductive reasoning is the reasoning that draws general or universal conclusions based on knowledge about special objects. It is divided into complete inductive reasoning and incomplete inductive reasoning.Incomplete inductive reasoning is divided into simple enumeration method, statistical method and scientific inductive reasoning.What is to be said here is the sophistry of the sophists in the application of simple enumeration and statistics. There are three forms of simple enumeration: one.Based on the fact that some objects in a certain type of things have (or do not have) a certain attribute and no contrary situation has been found, it is deduced that all objects in this type of thing have (or do not have) this attribute reasoning.Its characteristic is to deduce the situation of the class they belong to from the situation of some molecules, which is a static induction of things from space.

two.Based on the fact that an individual object has (or does not have) a certain attribute in part of the time and occasions in which it exists, and no contrary situation is found, it is deduced that the object has (or does not have) this attribute in all the time and occasions in which it exists. attribute reasoning.Its characteristic is the dynamic induction of the same object from time to time. three.Based on the fact that a certain aspect of a thing has (or does not have) a certain attribute, and no contrary situation is found, it is a reasoning that the whole of the thing has (or does not have) this attribute.Its characteristic is to deduce the overall situation from the local situation of things.The simple enumeration method of the above three forms has insufficient reasoning basis.Because no counterexample has been found, it does not mean that there is no counterexample, and it does not mean that there will never be a counterexample in the future; a certain object has a certain property at this time, and it does not mean that it also has this property at that time and place; Having a certain attribute on the one hand does not mean that it also has this attribute on other aspects.This situation determines that the conclusion of the simple enumeration method is probable, that is, the conclusion is not necessarily deduced from the existing premises, so the conclusion may be true or false.

In order to improve the reliability of the conclusion of the simple enumeration method, logic has proposed two rules that must be followed: first, extensively collect a large number of facts that can support the conclusion.The more factual materials, the higher the reliability of the conclusion; second, pay attention to collecting negative examples, at least when applying this reasoning, there must be no examples that contradict the conclusion.Otherwise, reasoning cannot be established.However, since observing these two rules can only help to improve the reliability of the conclusion, it cannot guarantee that the conclusion is correct, so when people apply the simple enumeration method, they still have the possibility of making partial or rash generalization mistakes.The sophistry of the sophists who apply the simple enumeration method is: knowing that there are counterexamples, but deliberately generalizing to prove their point of view.