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| The Quest for Truth |
The Quest for Truth
How is finding the ultimate truth related to the four basic modes of reasoning that were reviewed at the beginning of this chapter?
In the deductive process, your conclusions follow directly from your initial definitions and assumptions. You may obtain a better understanding of the implications of those definitions and assumptions. However, since your definitions and assumptions are arbitrary, the associated deductive reasoning cannot lead to any ultimate truth.
Inductive reasoning is based on observations and probability theory. It is a pragmatic process for predicting future events, not for discovering ultimate truths.
Authoritarian edicts from this world are of the form, ‘The boss says that’s the way it is’. And since ‘the boss’ has coercive power, that is indeed the way it is – for now.
Authoritarian edicts from on high are of the form, ‘God told Fred, and Fred told me’.
Those sources of information are not always reliable.
Emotional reasoning has the form ‘that’s just the way I feel about it’.
The quest for the ultimate truth continues.
How is finding the ultimate truth related to the four basic modes of reasoning that were reviewed at the beginning of this chapter?
In the deductive process, your conclusions follow directly from your initial definitions and assumptions. You may obtain a better understanding of the implications of those definitions and assumptions. However, since your definitions and assumptions are arbitrary, the associated deductive reasoning cannot lead to any ultimate truth.
Inductive reasoning is based on observations and probability theory. It is a pragmatic process for predicting future events, not for discovering ultimate truths.
Authoritarian edicts from this world are of the form, ‘The boss says that’s the way it is’. And since ‘the boss’ has coercive power, that is indeed the way it is – for now.
Authoritarian edicts from on high are of the form, ‘God told Fred, and Fred told me’.
Those sources of information are not always reliable.
Emotional reasoning has the form ‘that’s just the way I feel about it’.
The quest for the ultimate truth continues.
