1. Deduction - given premises and inferential rules, produces conclusions; as certain as possible.
2. Induction - given premises and conclusions, produces inferential rules; statistically probable, but a single counterfactual observation means throwing out the whole thing (e.g. black swans).
3. Abduction - given conclusions and inferential rules, produces premises; no guarantee of certainty.
Any time we retrospectively tell a story of how something came to be, that we did not immediately observe, we're applying abductive reasoning. It relies on the same inferential rules as deduction and induction, but applied in reverse.
1. Deduction - given premises and inferential rules, produces conclusions; as certain as possible.
2. Induction - given premises and conclusions, produces inferential rules; statistically probable, but a single counterfactual observation means throwing out the whole thing (e.g. black swans).
3. Abduction - given conclusions and inferential rules, produces premises; no guarantee of certainty.
Any time we retrospectively tell a story of how something came to be, that we did not immediately observe, we're applying abductive reasoning. It relies on the same inferential rules as deduction and induction, but applied in reverse.