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A-Z Popular 7 Types of Reasoning
        posted by John Spacey, October 23, 2015 updated on April 25, 2018
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Reasoning is the process of thinking about things in a logical, rational

way. It is considered an innate human ability that has been formalized

Business Guide by fields such as logic, mathematics and artificial intelligence.

The process of reasoning is used to make decisions, solve problems and

  evaluate things. It can be formal or informal, top-down or bottom-up
and differs in terms of handling of uncertainty and partial truths.

The following are a few major types of reasoning.

Problem Solving 1. Deductive Reasoning

A/B Testing Deductive reasoning is a formal method of top-down logic that seeks to
find observations to prove a theory. It uses formal logic and produces
Abductive Reasoning
logically certain results.
Abstraction

Analysis Paralysis 2. Inductive Reasoning

Inductive reasoning is bottom-up logic that seeks theories to explain
Arrow Of Time
observations. It is exploratory in nature and allows for uncertain but
Art vs Science likely results.

Backward Induction

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Architecture

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Communication 3. Abductive Reasoning

Creativity Like induction, abductive reasoning seeks theories to explain
observations. It is less rigorous and allows for best guesses. Abductive
Culture
Reasoning is typically used in the context of uncertainty. It is associated
Decision Making with decision making and troubleshooting.

Design
4. Backward Induction
Economics Backward Induction is a top-down approach that starts with theories or
end-states and works backwards to explain them. It allows for
Education
uncertainty and is commonly used in artificial intelligence. For
Employment example, it's a classic way for a computer to play chess by considering

Finance game end-states and working backwards to evaluate moves.

Governance
5. Critical Thinking
Industries Critical Thinking is a process of rational thought that seeks to draw
conclusions in an objective, thorough and informed manner. It's a
Information
product of human thought and is influenced by factors such as culture
Information Technology and language. Human thought is based on natural language that allows

Infrastructure
for a great range of ideas to be contemplated. For example, humans can
easily process partial truths, commonly known as grey areas, that tend
Innovation
to be a challenge in the field of logic. Critical thinking can also examine

Investing complexities such as emotion. For example, critical thinking can be

used to critique a film or book.
Knowledge

Management 6. Counterfactual Thinking

Counterfactual thinking is considering things that are known to be
Marketing
impossible. The most common example of this is evaluating past
Metrics decisions that were once possible but are now impossible as their time

Motivation horizon has passed. Considering how past decisions might have worked
out is a common human thought process that may improve decision
Organizational Culture
making abilities.
Problem Solving
7. Intuition
Quality
Intuition are judgements that are made by the mind that are perceived
Risk by the unconscious. Such judgements exhibit intelligence but the
processes by which they are generated aren't well understood.
Small Business
Although intuition is sometimes taken lightly, it has played a significant
Society role in scientific discovery.

Strategy
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The 4 differences between
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What is Analogical
Reasoning?
An overview of analogical
reasoning.

Problem Solving
A list of problem solving methods.

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A list of thinking approaches and types.

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What is Analytic Reasoning? »

Workaround
A definition of workaround with examples.

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Creative Thinking
A list of common creative thinking techniques.

12 Types of Creative Thinking »

Problems
A list of common types of problems.

14 Types of Problem »

12 Types of Failure »

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Analysis Paralysis
The definition of analysis paralysis with examples.

8 Examples of Analysis Paralysis »

Arrow Of Time
The definition of the arrow of time with examples.

6 Examples of the Arrow Of Time

»

Business Problems
An overview of common business problems.

30 Examples of Business Problems

»

Decision Framing
The definition of decision framing with examples.

9 Examples of Decision Framing »

Research
The common types of research.

24 Types of Research »

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7 Examples of Original Research »

Logic
A few logic terms explained.

50+ Logic Terms »

20 Types of Logic »

4 Limits Of Logic »

What Is The Law Of Excluded

Middle? »

Law Of Excluded Middle

A classical law of logic first established by Aristotle.

What Is The Law Of Excluded

Middle? »

Fuzzy Logic
Logic that allows for partial truths.

What is Fuzzy Logic? »

Logic vs Intelligence
The difference between logic and intelligence.

Logic vs Intelligence »

Causality
The definition of causality with examples.

11 Examples of Causality »

Magical Thinking
The definition of magical thinking with examples.

11 Examples of Magical Thinking »

Scientism
The definition of scientism with examples.

5 Examples of Scientism »

Fallacies
A list of logical fallacies.

61 Fallacies Defined »

What is Affirming The

Consequent? »

What is Appeal To
Accomplishment? »

What is an Argument From

Silence? »

Mutually Exclusive
The definition of mutually exclusive with examples.

8 Examples of Mutually Exclusive

»

False Balance
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5 Examples of False Balance »

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