Induction is such a way to draw a logical conclusion, in which they come to a general position from the particular. Such a conclusion through mathematical, psychological, and factual representations brings together several premises. This approach is based on the belief that in nature absolutely all phenomena depend on each other.
For the first time, the term "induction" is still found in Socrates, but its meaning was significantly different from modern. He believed that a comparison of several special cases, with the exception of false ones, allows us to give the concept a general definition. Aristotle went further: he had already pointed out the differences between complete and incomplete induction, but could not yet explain the rights and foundations of the latter. He considered this kind of inference the exact opposite of syllogism.
When the philosophers of the Renaissance began to actively rebel against the views of Aristotle, the induction method was declared the only effective in natural science. He began to contrast sharply with the syllogic approach of the ancient Greek philosopher.
It is believed that the induction method in almost the form in which it is accepted in modern science was advanced by F. Bacon. Although he actually already had such predecessors as Leonardo da Vinci and some other thinkers. In words, Bacon did not attach any importance to the syllogism. But in practice, its induction is not complete without this concept. F. Bacon believed that generalization should be carried out gradually and take into account three rules, consider the manifestation of a certain property from three sides:
1) review of negative cases;
2) a review of positive cases;
3) a review of those cases in which the property manifests itself to different degrees, with different strengths. And already starting from all this, a generalization can be deduced.
Thus, according to Bacon, it turns out that without a syllogism, that is, without summing up the subject being investigated, under general conclusions, it is impossible to derive a new judgment. And this means that the scientist was not able to completely contrast the inductive method to the deductive one, which was put forward by Descartes. And yet F. Bacon did not stop there. Realizing that his method also has drawbacks, he suggested ways to overcome them. So, he believed that the probabilistic nature of this method, its incompleteness, can gradually be overcome by the knowledge accumulated by people in many areas of life.
The induction method can be of two types: complete and incomplete. In the first case, a statement will be proved until the last particular case, until all options are exhausted. The conclusion is quite reliable. This method is beyond doubt. In addition, it expands a person’s knowledge of a subject.
The method of incomplete induction, on the contrary, observation of specific, individual cases leads to a hypothesis, which then needs to be proved. From the point of view of logic, he offers insufficient arguments; the conclusion put forward with his help may be erroneous. This method of induction needs some more evidence, since it is probabilistic in nature. However, errors are possible in both cases. They occur due to the fact that the investigation, which is dealt with when conducting research, you can choose too many reasons, which can also relate to different time periods.
The most advanced type of induction is scientific induction. In it, the conclusion about the properties of objects belonging to the same class is made after studying their internal conditionality. This distinguishes it from ordinary induction, in which the properties of the studied subject are considered spontaneously, randomly.
By the way, this way of making conclusions is not unique to logic. Methods of scientific induction are also common in philosophy, physics, medicine, economics and jurisprudence.