3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Inductive Reasoning

There are many types of reasoning of which two are very common and popular. They are inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning. The latter was made universally popular by author Arthur Conan Doyle with his iconic detective Sherlock Holmes who used deductive reasoning to solve crimes or at least to get further in his investigation. Inductive reasoning is the opposite in many ways.

Deductive reasoning allows you to have a cluster of observations and then you deduce the various scenarios or break them down to get to a specific observation whereby you get led to a conclusion studying the various possibilities. Inductive reasoning allows you to take an observation and then go forward to apply that to various similar circumstances and at times different scenarios.

List of Advantages of Inductive Reasoning

1. Gamut of Probabilities
The biggest advantage of inductive reasoning is that you get to work with probabilities. Not all probabilities will be true or even possible but you do get various options. When you have to gauge an idea or develop a perception with very little material at hand, which could be observations or experience, then you need a starting point. Inductive reasoning gets you to that starting point. Inductive reasoning is used consciously and naturally by people in all walks of life. From friends to peers, we tend to use inductive reasoning to judge people. From professional challenges to chores at home, we resort to inductive reasoning to develop our perceptions and it also influences how we approach these tasks.

2. Fuels further Exploration
Inductive reasoning begins with a specific observation or inference. It fuels more exploration to test if the judgment or probable inference is right or wrong. In the process, anyone who uses inductive reasoning will explore the given context, the realm and try or test different scenarios. This kind of exploration is not only good for the purpose of investigation or studying probabilities but it also helps the person indulging in inductive reasoning to understand how accurate or inaccurate the initial assessments and inferences have been.

List of Disadvantages of Inductive Reasoning

1. Limited in Scope and Inaccurate Inferences
Inductive reasoning is very limited. It begins with a single observation or an inference drawn from very specific and alike situations. This cannot possibly lead anyone to a fair judgment or accurate inference in a diverse world. Deductive reasoning amasses observations and then gets specific and even then it goes wrong at times. Inductive reasoning begins with something specific and then tries to generalize, which will go wrong more often than frequent.