Many people do not know what the deductive method is. Or they are doing it without knowing its meaning or anything to do with it. So in this article I will teach you about what the deductive method is.
What is deductive method?
Human beings who are interested in putting into practice the knowledge they have acquired, either by their own nature (subjective vision) or by data collection; They carry out studies and procedures, the analyzes of which lead to specific results, whether true or false.
Said results obtained can be close to reality, or if they want to give an accuracy, they work with particular methods whose information reveals them from the basic to the specific according to their reality.
It is concluded that the deductive method (from the Latin deducere, verb to deduce) is the action of demonstrating the results in a specific and reasonable way, depending on the premises acquired to carry out their studies.
Importance
- The coordinated use of logical or philosophical reasoning, whose origin is found in the thoughts of the human being, seeks a truthful conclusion, as long as it works with data, formulas or other valid premises. This is based on universal premises, rooting its importance in obtaining specific conclusions, although this method is not safe because its veracity is not carried out in experiments.
In daily life this method is applied a lot, such as doing an analysis of proposals or mathematical symbols, whose rules are specific.
Classification
The deductive method bases its classification on:
- Direct or immediate results: based on the study of a single and unique premise and logically has only one result.
- Indirect or mediate results: it is the comparative study of two or more data between a large quantity and another particular one, resulting in a single answer.
Features
- Find the origin of the premises whether they are true or false.
- It is not a safe method since it does not use experiments but is based on logic.
- It uses computerized, mathematical, physical, statistical, educational, economic, philosophical and other systems to collect proposals and thus draw up particular laws.
In view of the fact that this method is very controversial, it can be adapted to the different branches that study the phenomena that appear partially or generally based on scientific facts.
The deductive method in mathematics: The science that primarily studies the geometric branch.
In the physical: draws its conclusions from a scientific proposal.
Educational: works emphatically in the elaboration of concepts, definitions, formulas, among others.
Economy: the axioms are those that generate specific phenomena.
Primary authors
- Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton brought this scientific method to the area of mathematics.
- Robert Grosseteste, Aristotle, Avicenna (medicine).
- Charles Sanders Peirce: is based on explanatory principles (the syllogism).
- Descarte, Francis Bacon: theory of relativity.
- Claude Bernard, Euclid.
- Karl Popper: this author does not approve the hypothesis-deductive theory, because the data obtained from individual phenomena are not entirely true, since their premises are elaborated by the same scientist, using the inductive method.
Steps to follow in the deductive method
- It is based on the universal principle.
- Constructive criticism applies.
- List the particular proposals.
- Apply true or false statements.
- He generates laws according to his reasoning: laws of detachment, laws of syllogism and laws of the counter-reciprocal.
The deductive method as it is based on the study of premises based on logic, takes its field of reasoning (thoughts) creating laws that make it easier to draw its conclusions, these laws are:
Laws of detachment: here a proposal is made that leads to a hypothesis giving a conclusion. Example: if I make five sweet breads and give away three of them, then I have two loaves left.
Laws of syllogism: here you have to give two contexts and combine them, to obtain a conclusion, example:
- All fruits are tasty.
- The Apple is a fruit.
- The apple is tasty.
Contra-reciprocal laws: if the conclusion is true, it is because the data hypothesis is true. Example, The sun rises for everyone.
But if the conclusion is false, logically it is because your data is false. Example, the human being acts like a robot.
Hypothetico-deductive theory.
Fostered in the scientific and conceptual study, seeking deductive theories according to the specific questioning of the methodology used, taking advantage of mathematics, physics, philosophy and others, either in experiments or observations.
The necessary steps to follow to determine the variables are:
- Locate the phenomenon to be studied.
- Explains the observed phenomena through hypotheses.
- Hypotheses can generate consequences or assumptions.
- The veracity of its variables is obtained by means of verifications, comparing them with the experiences.
Steps 1 and 4 require empirical methods. And steps 2 and 3 work with the rational method.