Inference: an introduction

An inference is an idea or conclusion that's drawn from evidence and reasoning. The reasoning involved in drawing a conclusion or making a logical judgment on the basis of circumstantial

evidence and prior conclusions rather than on the basis of direct observation. An inference is

an educated guess. 

We learn about some things by experiencing them first-hand, but we gain other knowledge by

inference — the process of inferring things based on what is already known. When you make

an inference, you're reading between the lines or just looking carefully at the facts and coming

to conclusions. You can also make faulty inferences.

 Ranbeer kapoor is handsome. (True)

 Ranbeer kapoor is an actor. (True)

 All handsome people are actor. (False)

 All actors are handsome. (False)

Types of Inferences

Based on the number of their premise, inferences are basically classified into two:

1. Immediate Inference – 

consists in passing directly from a single premise to a conclusion. It is 

reasoning, without the intermediacy of a middle term or second proposition, from one proposition to

another which necessarily follows from it.

Eg.. 

👉No Dogs are cats. Therefore, no cats are Dogs. 

👉 All squares are circles. Therefore, some circles are squares.

2. Mediate Inference- 

consists in deriving a conclusion from two or more logically interrelated

premises. Involving an advance in knowledge, it is reasoning that involves the intermediacy of a

middle term or second proposition which warrants the drawing of a new truth.

Eg.. 

All true Christians are theist. 

 Paul is a true Christian. 

Therefore, Paul is a theist.

Functions of Inference

The function of inference is important, not only in literature, but in daily life to make sense of

things people say and do. The skills inference teaches us are not only required to make out the

underlying meanings of phrases and arguments, but also to perceive the implicit concealed

meanings that enhance the overall quality of communication.

It is also used to draw one’s own conclusions from a script. Inference plays a central role in

understanding texts by translating in one’s mind the effects of the usage of particular words. It

also makes us see the literary value of a text by highlighting its strengths. Moreover, inference

has a great deal of significance in enhancing the learning abilities of students academically and

otherwise.

The ability to make inferences helps students develop an understanding of the author’s

perspective by grasping the subtle underlying meanings in a text. Without inference, people

usually end up translating a text word by word, missing out on the associations a writer is

trying to make. Such a lacking approach keeps us from comprehending the “whole picture” of a

piece of writing.

The delight a reader feels while going through a text is because of the inferences he makes

along the way. People who are better at inferring generally have much more fun while reading

than those who do not. The reason is that they understand the script better because they are

able to see things that are not too obvious, which is why they follow a story or text better and

enjoy it all the more. Besides, understanding the text better helps them draw information from

their existing knowledge, and relate to the characters more deeply.

In learning the processes of inference, people generally come to find that in places reading a

text independently makes it incomplete. There are certain concepts and feelings that we

understand better when we associate them with our own experiences. It also aids in learning

concepts like themes, characters, and figurative language. When this process is repeated

consciously and systematically, it becomes a skill that helps us fill the gaps in understanding a

script.

The fallacy of Composition

The Fallacy of Composition involves taking attributes of part of an object or class and applying them

to the entire object or class. It is similar to the Fallacy of Division but works in reverse. Inferring that

something is true of the whole from the fact that it is true of some part of the whole. This is the

opposite of the fallacy of division.

The argument being made is that because every part has some characteristic, then the whole must

necessarily also have that characteristic. This is a fallacy because not everything that is true about

every part of an object is necessarily true of the whole, much less about the entire class that the

object is part of.

Example :

 Paul is the smartest student in our school.  Since he is in my class, I must be in the smartest class. Explaination: Notice here that only one part (Paul) is used to assume that the whole (class) is what

the single part is (smart). 

Example:

 This tire is made of rubber. 

 So, the vehicle of which it is a part is also made of rubber. Example: 

 If someone stands up out of their seat at a cricket match, they can see better. 

 Therefore, if everyone stands up, they can all see better.

The fallacy of equivocation

Using an ambiguous term in more than one sense, thus making an argument misleading.

Example:

 The priest told me I should have faith.  I have faith that my son will do well in school this year.  Therefore, the priest should be happy with me. 

Example:

 Each brick in that building weighs less than a pound.  Therefore, the building weighs less than a pound. 

Example:

 Hydrogen is not wet.  Oxygen is not wet.  Therefore, water (H2O) is not wet. Example:

 Your brain is made of molecules.  Molecules do not have consciousness.  Therefore, your brain cannot be the source of consciousness.

The fallacy of hasty generalization

A hasty generalization is a fallacy in which a conclusion that is reached is not logically justified by

sufficient or unbiased evidence. It's also called an insufficient sample, a converse accident, a faulty

generalization, a biased generalization, jumping to a conclusion, secundum quid, and a neglect of

qualifications. Drawing a conclusion based on a small sample size, rather than looking at statistics

that are much more in line with the typical or average situation.

Example:

 My father smoked four packs of cigarettes a day since age 14 and lived until age sixty-nine.  Therefore, smoking really can’t be that bad for you. 

Example:

 I visited New York and the first person I meet in the airport is rude.  So everyone in this new country is rude. 

Example:

 Christine has a terrible experience with her boyfriend.  She decides that all boys are mean

The fallacy of False Analogy

A false analogy is a logical fallacy that occurs when someone applies facts from one situation to

another situation but the situations are substantially different and the same conclusions cannot

logically be drawn. This fallacy consists in assuming that because two things are alike in one or more

respects, they are necessarily alike in some other respect.

Example:

 Children are like dogs. 

 They need to be strongly disciplined and housebroken. 

 Should they also eat from a bowl on the floor and see a vet regularly?

Example:

 Banana is yellow. 

 The sun is yellow. 

 So they are the same size.