blog




  • Essay / Reflecting on the Logical Thinking Session

    This session was an enjoyable and informative experience as it reminded me of how to perceive things. During high school I studied science, so this session introduced me to information that I already knew and practiced. Although my degree is currently in Fine Arts, specifically Design, my passion and intrigue for science has remained with me throughout the years. During this class session, we discussed logical thinking and what classifies a method as scientific; the three scientific methods being induction, deduction and hypothetical deduction. Despite some unfamiliarity with the exact scientific terms used, this session kept my interest and provided me with new knowledge. Induction has a bottom-up approach, in which an empirical observation is made, empirical in this case referring to an experiment. A model then develops and a hypothesis is formulated, which ultimately concludes a theory. For example, while working in a pet store, I observed that many Pitbull owners were complaining of allergic reactions in their dogs after consuming Purina dog food. Therefore, a hypothesis has been made that all Pitbulls are allergic to Purina dog food. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay The use of induction poses a problem because a theory is stated without any experimentation or questioning, but only through the 'observation. Exceptions can refute the law. Induction cannot be justified by logical reasons, the "sufficient" number of observations varies, the number of variations required can be infinitely large, observations cannot be completely objective. There is a good chance that one person's theory will turn out to be invalid. Deduction, however, has a top-down approach, where the theory is given, the hypothesis is then tested, and further observations are made to prove that the theory is valid or invalid. For example, all Pitbulls are allergic to Purina food; Purina food is made from chicken, so all Pitbulls are allergic to chicken. A premise is a statement that supports a conclusion. Hypothetico-deduction differs from other methods in that it involves more testing and hypotheses. A question is asked based on observation, theory is investigated from primary and secondary resources, a testable hypothesis is constructed based on observation, experiments are conducted and qualitative and quantitative data are observed and collected from observations. Keep in mind: This is only a sample.Get a custom paper now from our expert writers.Get a custom essayThe conclusive results are analyzed, the hypothesis is declared true or false, and finally confirmed, reported and published. For example, I own a Pitbull but refused to feed him chicken food due to my previous observations. I inquired about this from the vet and other Pitbull owners, and also googled the best food to feed Pitbull. I experimented with different types of food as well as with real chicken meat and looked for possible allergic reactions; surprisingly, there were none. In this case, the hypothesis was falsifiable, meaning it could be tested or proven false. I then reported my experience to the veterinarian.