By: Megan Prats

9/10/2014

Is deductive reasoning critical thinking?  The critical thinker uses deductive reasoning as a tool to narrow possible solutions down to one or a fewer number of solutions but because deductive reasoning assumes that the right answer exists amongst a finite amount, it confines the possibilities of the conclusion to a fixed number which does not adequately reflect knowledge’s infinite nature thus it is not an element of critical thinking.

Even though deductive reasoning isn’t an element of critical thinking, the critical thinker will likely use this tool extensively in the real world because seeing all of the possible outcomes would overwhelm the human mind. Thus, the mind takes certain hypothesis and elevates them to more prevalent answers than others so that the brain can select from a comfortable few.

So deductive reasoning in itself is not an element of critical thinking because it confines the infinite realm of knowledge to the finite. However, because of its practicality, it is used as a tool for the critical thinker to filter ideas into an answer or answers.

© Megan Prats 2014