Which type of argument does the following example reflect? "Shakila learns that all her Chinese friends from Penang are able to speak Hokkien. Shakila comes to the conclusion that a majority of Chinese Penangites speak Hokkien."

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The prompt asks us to classify the type of argument in the given example.
Option A: Inductive argument. The scenario describes Shakila observing a subset of individuals (her Chinese friends from Penang) and then drawing a general conclusion about a larger group (the majority of Chinese Penangites speaking Hokkien). This is characteristic of induction, where specific observations are used to infer a generalization or likelihood, rather than asserting a conclusion that must be true in all cases.
Option B: Deductive argument. A deductive argument would move from general principles or premises to a specific conclusion that logically must follow from them. Here, the conclusion is not guaranteed by the premises; it is probabilistic and extrapolates beyond the observed sample. This makes the reasoning non-deductive.
Additional nuance: The example relies on a sample (the friends from Penang) to infer about the broader population (all Chinese Penangites). This can raise questions about representativeness and potential sampling bias, which are common considerations in inductive generalizations.
In summary, the structure shows moving from particular observations to a generalized claim about a larger group, which aligns with inductive reasoning rather than deductive reasoning.

Which type of argument does the following example reflect? "Shakila learns that all her Chinese friends from Penang are able to speak Hokkien. Shakila comes to the conclusion that a majority of Chinese Penangites speak Hokkien."

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