DEFINITON AND TYPE OF INFERENCES
Inference is the act or process of deriving logical conclusions from premises known or assumed
to be true. The conclusion drawn is also called an
idiomatic. The laws
of valid inference are
studied in the field of logic.
There are several types of inferences :
1. Terms of qualification
Terms of
qualification include words or phrases that modify the certainty of a writer’s
statement. These terms can be used to infer the author’s attitude toward the
particular topic. There are four categories of terms of qualification:
•words or phrases that express no doubt
all, always, definitely, clearly
•words or phrases that express little doubt
most, seldom, consistently, rarely
•words or phrases that express some doubt
it seems, apparently, many, it is possible
•words or phrases that express much doubt
supposedly, it is rumored
2. Terms of connotation
The connotation of a word is its suggested meaning. A
critical reader can infer much about an author’s unspoken attitude toward a
topic by examining the connotations of his/her word choice.
Many words fall
into one of three categories, each of which expresses an implied value:
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Positive
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Neutral
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Negative
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home
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house
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shack
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slender
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slim
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skinny
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inquisitive
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interested
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nosy
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youngster
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child
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brat
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1.
A Positive Attitude :
Words with
positive connotations are used to express a positive attitude towards
something.
2.
A Neutral Attitude :
Words with
neutral connotations are used to show that an author is not biased about the
subject.
3.
A Negative Attitude :
Words with negative connotations are used to express a
negative attitude towards something
3.
Term
of Metaphors and Similes
Metaphor
is a direct comparison of two objects or ideas that do not seem related
Simile
is same as
metaphor yet uses the words ‘as’ or ‘like’ in the comparison
To understand a metaphor or simile, you need to identify the
two words that are being compared- subject and image. Then you can begin to
list the associations the two words together suggest.
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Examples of Metaphors :
“His
hair was bone white.”
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Here,
the whiteness of the person's hair is being compared to that of a bone's.
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“She
is an early bird.”
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In
this one, the girl is being compared to a bird, because she too gets up early
in the morning.
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“A
heart of stone.”
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This
metaphor is inferring that the person’s heart is hard, cold, and impermeable
like a stone.
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Examples
of Similes :
Ernest Gaines,
the author of the novel A Lesson Before Dying,
uses several
similes in his writing.
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“His godmother
became as immobile as a great stone or as one of our oak or
cypress stumps.” (p.3)
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This quote is
comparing the godmother to a large heavy object. It is implying that getting
her to move would
take a great amount of effort.
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“…the two
half-burned logs gave about as much fire as a candle would.” (p. 77)
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This compares the burning logs
to candle light and implies that the amount of light they
gave off was minimal.
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“The leaves were as still as if
they were painted there.” (p. 84)
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Through this quote
the reader can infer that there is not even a breeze. The leaves were
completely still which implies
the feeling that the leaves were frozen in time like a painting.
4.
Term of allusion
Allusion
is a direct or indirect reference to
something which is presumably commonly
known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work
of art .
Examples of Allusion in Everyday Speech
The use allusions are
not confined to literature alone. Their occurrence is fairly common in our
daily speech. Look at some common examples of allusions in everyday life:
“Don’t act like a
Romeo in front of her.”
– “Romeo” is a
reference to Shakespeare’s Romeo, a passionate lover of Juliet, in “Romeo and
Juliet”.
The rise in poverty
will unlock the Pandora’s box of crimes.
– This is an allusion
to one of Greek Mythology’s origin myth, “Pandora’s box”.
“This place is like a
Garden of Eden.”
–This is a biblical
allusion to the “garden of God” in the Book of Genesis.
“Hey! Guess who the
new Newton of our school is?”
– “Newton”, means a
genius student, alludes to a famous scientist Isaac Newton.
“Stop acting like my
ex-husband please.”
– Apart from scholarly allusions we
refer to common people and places in our speech.
5.
Term of Inductions
Induction: A process of reasoning (arguing) which infers a
general conclusion based
on individual
cases, examples, specific bits of evidence, and other specific
types of
premises.
Example:
In Chicago last month, a nine-year-old boy died of an asthma attack while
waiting
for emergency aid. After their ambulance was pelted by rocks in
an
earlier incident, city paramedics wouldn’t risk entering the Dearborn
Homes
Project (where the boy lived) without a police escort.
Thus,
based on this example, one could inductively reason that the nineyear-
old
boy died as a result of having to wait for emergency treatment.
Guidelines
for logical and valid induction:
1.
When a body of evidence is being evaluated, the conclusion about that
evidence
that is the simplest but still covers all the facts is the
best
conclusion.
2.
The evidence needs to be well-known and understood.
3.
The evidence needs to be sufficient. When generalizing from a sample
to
an entire population, make sure the sample is large enough to show
a
real pattern.
4.
The evidence needs to be representative. It should be typical of the
entire
population being generalized.
6.
Term of deduction
Deduction: A process of reasoning that starts with a general
truth, applies that truth to
a specific
case (resulting in a second piece of evidence), and from those
two pieces of
evidence (premises), draws a specific conclusion about the
specific
case.
Example: Free
access to public education is a key factor in the success of industrialized
nations like
the United States. (major premise)
India is
working to become a successful, industrialized nation. (specific case)
Therefore,
India should provide free access to public education for its citizens.
(conclusion)
Thus,
deduction is an argument in which the conclusion is said to follow
necessarily
from the premise.
Guidelines
for logical and valid deduction:
1. All
premises must be true.
2. All
expressions used in the premises must be clearly and
consistently
defined.
3. The first
idea of the major premise must reappear in some form as the
second idea
in the specific case.
4. No valid
deductive argument can have two negative premises.
5. No new idea can be
introduced in the conclusion.
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References:
·
Induction,
Deduction, And The Scientific Method An Eclectic Overview
Of The Practice Of Science Irving Rothchild Emeritus Professor Of
Reproductive Biology Case Western Reserve
University School Of Medicine Cleveland, Ohio
·
www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/itprnn/book.pdf
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