Learn in the textbookSymbolic AI and Logical Reasoning
DefinitionDeductive reasoning (演繹推論) applies a general rule to an individual fact and draws a conclusion about that individual.
ExplanationIts typical form is the syllogism, which reaches a conclusion from a general rule (the major premise) and an individual fact (the minor premise). If the premises are true and each step follows the rules of logic, the conclusion is guaranteed to be true. In symbolic AI, deductive reasoning applied to knowledge written in predicate logic derives facts that were never written down.
AnalogyIf you know a building is entirely non-smoking, you can tell that smoking is not allowed in any room you walk into without checking each one.
Memory hookDeduction comes from Latin for "lead down": you lead down from the general rule to the single case.