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Analogy - A parallel drawn between two (or more) entities by indicating one or more
respects in which they are similar.
Analogical argument - A kind of inductive argument in which, from the fact that two
entities are alike in some respect(s), it is concluded that they are also alike in some
other respect(s).
Causal Reasoning
Causal reasoning - Inductive reasoning in which some effect is inferred from what is
assumed to be its cause, or some cause is inferred from what is assumed to be its
effect.
Remote Cause in any chain of causes and effects, an event distant from the effect for
which explanation is sought. Contrasted with “proximate” cause.
Proximate cause in any chain of causes and effects, the event nearest to the event
whose explanation is sought. Contrasted with “remote” causes, which are more distant
in the causal chain.
Necessary and Sufficient Condition - The conjunction of necessary conditions for the
occurrence of a given event, this conjunction being all that is needed to ensure the
occurrence of the event. It is the sense in which the word cause is used when
inferences are drawn both from cause to effect and from effect to cause.
Causal Laws - Descriptive laws asserting a necessary connection between events of
two kinds, of which one is the cause and the other the effect.
Mill's Methods The five patterns of inductive inference, analyzed and formulated by
John Stuart Mill, with which hypotheses are confirmed or disconfirmed.
Scientific Method
1. Identifying the Problem
2. Devising Preliminary Hypotheses
3. Collecting Additional Facts
4. Formulating the Explanatory Hypotheses
5. Deducing Further Consequences
6. Testing the Consequences
7. Applying the Theory
Mutually Exclusive Events – Events of such a nature that, if one occurs, the other(s)
cannot occur at the same time. Thus, in a coin flip, the outcomes "heads" and "tails" are
mutually exclusive events.