Deductive reasoning Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! == History == {{expand section|date=January 2015}} [[Aristotle]], a [[Ancient Greek philosophy|Greek philosopher]], started documenting deductive reasoning in the 4th century BC.<ref> {{cite book |editor1-last= Evans |editor1-first= Jonathan St. B. T. |editor2-last= Newstead |editor2-first= Stephen E. |editor3-last= Byrne |editor3-first= Ruth M. J. |editor3-link= Ruth M. J. Byrne |title= Human Reasoning: The Psychology of Deduction |year= 1993 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=iFMhZ4dl1KcC |edition= Reprint |publisher= Psychology Press |publication-date= 1993 |page= 4 |isbn= 9780863773136 |access-date= 2015-01-26 |quote= In one sense [...] one can see the psychology of deductive reasoning as being as old as the study of logic, which originated in the writings of Aristotle. }} </ref> [[RenΓ© Descartes]], in his book [[Discourse on the Method|Discourse on Method]], refined the idea for the [[Scientific Revolution]]. Developing four rules to follow for proving an idea deductively, Descartes laid the foundation for the deductive portion of the [[scientific method]]. Descartes' background in geometry and mathematics influenced his ideas on the truth and reasoning, causing him to develop a system of general reasoning now used for most mathematical reasoning. Similar to postulates, Descartes believed that ideas could be self-evident and that reasoning alone must prove that observations are reliable. These ideas also lay the foundations for the ideas of [[rationalism]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aub.edu.lb/fas/cvsp/Documents/Descartes.pdf|title=Descartes' Project of Inquiry|last=Samaha|first=Raid|date=3 March 2009|website=American University of Beirut|access-date=24 October 2019|archive-date=28 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928144146/https://www.aub.edu.lb/fas/cvsp/Documents/Descartes.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page