Deductive reasoning

Wikipedia:

Deductive reasoning, also deductive logic, is the process of reasoning from one or more statements (premises) to reach a logically certain conclusion.

Deductive reasoning goes in the same direction as that of the conditionals, and links premises with conclusions. If all premises are true, the terms are clear, and the rules of deductive logic are followed, then the conclusion reached is necessarily true.

Deductive reasoning are general to specific while inductive reasoning are specific to general.

Deductive reasoning ("top-down logic") contrasts with inductive reasoning ("bottom-up logic") in the following way; in deductive reasoning, a conclusion is reached reductively by applying general rules which hold over the entirety of a closed domain of discourse, narrowing the range under consideration until only the conclusion(s) is left.

Facts > FACTS

In inductive reasoning, the conclusion is reached by generalizing or extrapolating from specific cases to general rules, i.e., there is epistemic uncertainty. However, the inductive reasoning mentioned here is not the same as induction used in mathematical proofs – mathematical induction is actually a form of deductive reasoning.

Trend > Generalizing

Deductive reasoning differs from abductive reasoning by the direction of the reasoning relative to the conditionals. Deductive reasoning goes in the same direction as that of the conditionals, whereas abductive reasoning goes in the opposite direction to that of the conditionals.

 

Teaching

I really liked David Hansen's analysis of why teaching should be considered a vocation and it has been for me.

Teaching as a vocation compromises a form of public service to others that at the same time provides the individual a sense of identity and personal fulfillment.
David Hansen, The Call to Teach

• A job is an activity that provides sustenance or survival.  It comprises highly repetitive tasks that are not defined and developed by those performing them.
• Vocation goes well beyond sustenance and survival; it guarantees personal autonomy and personal significance.
• Work may ensure personal autonomy and can therefore yield genuine meaning but, unlike vocation, it need not imply being of service to others.
• A career describes a long-term involvement in a particular activity but differs from vocation in similar ways that job and work do, that is, it need not provide personal fulfillment, a sense of identity, nor a public service.
• An occupation is an endeavor harboured within a society;s economic, social, and political system, but persons can have occupations that do not entail a sense of calling in the same way vocations do.
• A profession broadens the idea of an occupation by emphasizing the expertise and the social contribution that persons in an occupation render to society.  However, profession differs from vocation in two important ways.  First, persons can conduct themselves professionally but not regard the work as a calling, and can derive their sense of identity and personal fulfillment elsewhere.  Second, perks such as public recognition and rewards normally associated with professions run counter to personal and moral dimensions of vocations.

The teacher - a manager, mentor, controller, counselor, artist, architect, scientist, psychologist, sage on the stage and guide on the side.

From passive technicians to reflective practitioners and transformative intellectuals.