The 4 main types of reasoning (and their characteristics)

The reason or the ability to reason is one of the most valued cognitive skills throughout history, having been considered in antiquity as one of the characteristics that separate us from other animals and is often confronted with emotion (although emotion and reason are actually deeply interrelated).

But although the concept of reason is often taken as universal and unique, it is necessary to bear in mind that there is no single way or mechanism to achieve reasoning, being able to find different types of reasoning based on how information is obtained and processed . It is about some of these different types of existing reasoning that we are going to talk about throughout this article.

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What is reasoning?

We understand as reasoning the product of a set of complex cognitive skills through which we are able to relate and link different information in a structured way, a link that allows us to establish different strategies, arguments and conclusions based on this structuring of information.

Reasoning allows us to elaborate new information and ideas based on a set of rules, something that allows us to establish and form elements such as thoughts, beliefs, theories, abstract ideas, techniques or strategies. It also allows us to find the resolution of the problems or situations with which we find ourselves and the search for the most optimal methods.

Likewise, reasoning would not be possible without the existence of different mental faculties such as the capacity for association, attention, sensory perception, memory or the ability to plan or inhibit our responses both cognitively and behaviorally. So if it is and is considered a cognitive capacity would not be possible without the existence of many others on which it is sustained. We are not dealing with a basic capacity but with one of the higher or higher level cognitive abilities.

Main types of reasoning

Although the concept of reasoning may seem simple, the truth is that as with intelligence, defining it clearly and delimited (without mixing it with other concepts) is very complex. The truth is that the reasoning itself is difficult to study as a whole, often divided into different processes that give rise to different types of reasoning. Among them, the following stand out, with the first three being the most recognized and fundamental.

1. Deductive reasoning

One of the main types of reasoning is the so-called deductive reasoning, which, as its name suggests, is the type of cognitive process that we use to arrive at a deduction .

This type of thinking is based on the belief in a premise or a universal affirmation to arrive at a conclusion for each particular case. Thus, it goes from the general to the particular, being able to draw conclusions for a specific case based on the assumption or deduction from what we consider globally true .

He often uses logic to do this, and it is usual to use syllogisms, inferences and chained propositions to arrive at a concrete conclusion. The deductive thinking can be categorical (from two premises considered valid a conclusion is drawn), proportional (acting on two premises one of which is necessary for the other to occur) or disjunctive (two opposing premises are confronted in order to draw a conclusion that eliminates one of them).

It is often the type of reasoning that stereotypes follow, which lead us to think that because they are part of a collective or profession to which certain characteristics have been attributed, a person will have a specific behavior (be it good or bad).

It is usual that mere deduction can trigger judgments, arguments and beliefs that do not conform to reality . For example, we can think that water hydrates, then given that the sea is made of water, the seawater will hydrate us (when in fact it would produce dehydration).

2. Inductive reasoning

Inductive reasoning is that process of thought in which we start from the particular information to reach a general conclusion. It would be the inverse process to the deduction: we observe a particular case after another for the experience to be able to determine a more generalized conclusion. Is about a type of reasoning that is less logical and more probabilistic than the previous one.

Inductive reasoning can be incomplete (ie only include a series of specific cases and not others to establish the conclusions) or complete (including all the particular cases observed).

It is usually a much more used method than it seems when making decisions in our day to day, being generally what we use to predict the future consequences of our actions or what may happen.

It is also usually linked to the attribution of causes for the phenomena we perceive. However, as with deduction, it is easy to reach false conclusions, focusing only on what we have seen or experienced. For example, the fact that every time we see a swan this is white we can get to think that all swans are white, although they also exist in black.

3. Hypothetical-deductive reasoning

This type of reasoning or thinking is the basis of scientific knowledge, being one of those who sticks to the reality and the verification of the premises that are established based on observation.

It starts from the observation of the reality of a series of particular cases to generate a hypothesis, from which in turn possible consequences or interpretations of the observed will be deducted. These, in turn, they must be falsifiable and contrasted empirically to verify their veracity .

This type of reasoning is considered one of the most complex and adult (Piaget, for example, associates it with the last stage of development and considers it typically adult even though many adults may not own it).

This does not necessarily mean that they always come up with valid results, being a type of reasoning that is also sensitive to biases. An example of this type of reasoning can be found, for example, in the discovery of penicillin and its transformation into an antibiotic.

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4. Transductive reasoning

This type of reasoning is based on that of combine different information separated from each other to establish an argument, belief, theory or conclusion. In fact, they tend to link specific or specific information without generating any kind of principle or theory and without seeking to verify it.

It is considered typical of early childhood , when we are still unable to establish a reasoning that links causes and effects and we can get to associate elements that have nothing to do with it.

Example of this type of reasoning can be found in the type of reflection that children usually do, which may think for example that it is snowing because that day has been good.

Other types of reasoning

These are some of the most important types of reasoning, but there are other types depending on how they are classified. For example, we can find logical reasoning or non-logical reasoning (depending on whether it is used or not in such a way that the conclusions are coherent and extractable from the premises), the reasoning valid or not valid (depending on the whether the conclusion is correct or not) or even the reasoning linked to certain professions or fields of knowledge, such as the doctor or clinician.

Bibliographic references:

• Higueras, B. and Muñoz, J.J. (2012). Basic Psychology CEDE Preparation Manual PIR, 08. CEDE: Madrid.
• Peirce, C.S. (1988). The man, a sign (Peirce's pragmatism). Critic, Barcelona: 123-141.
• Polya, G. (1953). Mathematics and plausible reasoning. Ed. Tecnos. Madrid.

Logic, Types and Characteristics of Arguments (March 2024).