IPA IP 2022 Question 57
A question IPA Japan published in 令和4年度 ITパスポート試験 公開問題 問57, translated into English. ITPEC is based on the same exams.
Which of the following is the appropriate combination of words to be inserted into blanks A and B in the following description concerning reasoning?
A is a method of obtaining a rule that is common to individual cases on the basis of those cases, and the rule obtained B.
Explanation
A: inductive reasoning, B: may not hold — generalizing a rule from individual cases is induction, and a rule obtained that way is not guaranteed to be true.
- •Inductive reasoning goes from particular cases to a general rule: "every swan observed so far is white, so all swans are white". The rule covers cases not yet observed, so one counterexample (a black swan) can overturn it: the rule may not hold.
- •Deductive reasoning goes from general premises to a particular conclusion: "all swans are birds; this is a swan; so it is a bird". If the premises are true, the conclusion always holds.
The description builds a rule from individual cases, so A is inductive reasoning, and such a rule may not hold.
Answer (c)
Why not others:
- •(a) and (b) — deductive reasoning derives a particular conclusion from general rules; it does not obtain a rule from individual cases
- •(d) — induction is right, but a rule generalized from cases can be refuted by a case not yet seen, so it does not always hold
Key rule: Induction: cases → general rule, which may not hold. Deduction: general rule → particular conclusion, which always holds if the premises are true.
Basic Theory · AI-written, may contain errors
This question comes from the past questions IPA Japan publishes, translated into English by ITPEC Practice. ITPEC Practice is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with IPA or ITPEC. See the original paper (PDF) or Report an issue.