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How does inductive reasoning differ from deductive reasoning?

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Marble bust of Aristotle with a beard and draped robe, showing detailed facial features and wavy hair, set against a dark background. — Applied logic Aristotle, marble portrait bust, Roman copy (2nd century bce) of a Greek original (c. 325 bce); in the Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome.

In the context of logic, the distinction between deductive and inductive reasoning centers on the certainty of the conclusion relative to the premises.

Deductive Reasoning

Deductive reasoning involves inferences based on truth-preserving rules. An argument is considered deductively valid if it is impossible for the premises to be true while the conclusion is false; the truth of the premises guarantees the truth of the conclusion. By definition, deductive reasoning does not produce new information, as the conclusion is already contained within the premises.123

Inductive Reasoning

Inductive reasoning, often described as ampliative, involves inferences that may produce genuinely new information. Unlike deduction, inductive inferences do not guarantee the truth of their conclusions. Instead, they provide grounds to suggest that if the premises are true, the conclusion is likely or probable.12

While traditional logic often contrasted these by suggesting deduction moves from the general to the specific and induction from the particular to the general, many modern logicians have abandoned this view as incorrect. Some experts even reject the sharp contrast between the two, arguing that all valid inference is deductive in form.45