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veness. Bp. Stillingfleet. Strange, that you should not see the inconsequence of your own reasoning! Bp. Hurd.

The act or process of reasoning from a part to a whole, from particulars to generals, or from the individual to the universal; also, the result or inference so reached. Induction is an inference drawn from all the particulars. Sir W. Hamilton. Induction is the process by which we conclude that what is true of certain i…

Leading to inferences; proceeding by, derived from, or using, induction; as, inductive reasoning.

; a conclusion; a deduction. Milton. These inferences, or conclusions, are the effects of reasoning, and the three propositions, taken all together, are called syllogism, or argument. I. Watts.

Natural inward impulse; unconscious, involuntary, or unreasoning prompting to any mode of action, whether bodily, or mental, without a distinct apprehension of the end or object to be accomplished. An instinct is a propensity prior to experience, and independent of instructions. Paley. An instinct is a blind tendency t…

ture of instinct; determined by natural impulse or propensity; acting or produced without reasoning, deliberation, instruction, or experience; spontaneous. "Instinctive motion." Milton. "Instinctive dread." Cowper. With taste instinctive give Each grace appropriate. Mason. Have we had instinctive intimations of the dea…

edge, as in perception or consciousness; -- distinguished from "mediate" knowledge, as in reasoning; as, the mind knows by intuition that black is not white, that a circle is not a square, that three are more than two, etc.; quick or ready insight or apprehension. Sagacity and a nameless something more, -- let us call…

Knowing, or perceiving, by intuition; capable of knowing without deduction or reasoning. Whence the soul Reason receives, and reason is her being, Discursive, or intuitive. Milton.

Invalidity; as, the invalidness of reasoning.

A method of reasoning in which the orator shows that arguments advanced by his adversary in opposition to him are really favorable to his cause.

vert the attest of eyes and ears, As if these organs had deceptious functions. Shak. Such reasoning falls like an inverted cone, Wanting its proper base to stand upon. Cowper.

Conforming to known principles, or accepted rules; as, legitimate reasoning; a legitimate standard, or method; a legitimate combination of colors. Tillotson still keeps his place as a legitimate English classic. Macaulay.

The science or art of exact reasoning, or of pure and formal thought, or of the laws according to which the processes of pure thinking should be conducted; the science of the formation and application of general notions; the science of generalization, judgment, classification, reasoning, and systematic arrangement; cor…

According to the rules of logic; as, a logical argument or inference; the reasoning is logical. Prior.

Not precise or exact; vague; indeterminate; as, a loose style, or way of reasoning. The comparison employed . . . must be considered rather as a loose analogy than as an exact scientific explanation. Whewel.

According to rules or principles of metaphysics; as, metaphysical reasoning.

of an ancient school of physicians who rejected observation and founded their practice on reasoning and theory. Sir W. Hamilton.

scussion. Our knowledge is much more narrowed if we confine ourselves to our own solitary reasonings. I. Watts.

To excel or surpass in reasoning; to reason better than. South.

A reasoning which is false in point of form, that is, which is contrary to logical rules or formulæ; a formal fallacy, or pseudo- syllogism, in which the conclusion does not follow from the premises.