What does the word, "inference" mean?

Question

Can you provide a few examples of "inferences" being made?

Answer 1

Inference is the act or process of deriving a conclusion based solely on what one already knows.

An example: the classic syllogism
Greek philosophers defined a number of syllogisms, correct three-part inferences, that can be used as building blocks for more complex reasoning. We'll begin with the most famous of them all:

All men are mortal
Socrates is a man
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Therefore Socrates is mortal.
The reader can check that the premises and conclusion are true. The validity of the inference may not be true. The validity of the inference depends on the form of the inference. That is, a valid inference does not depend on the truth of the premises and conclusion, but on the formal rules of inference being used. In traditional logic, the form of the syllogism is:

All A is B
All C is A
----------
All C is B
Since the syllogism fits this form, then the inference is valid. And if the premises are true, then the conclusion is necessarily true.

Answer 2

"Inference" means " The conclusion reached by means of reasoning from what one already (putatively) knows". An inference is the process of reasoning to a conclusion from premises.

Arguments consist of statements--some of which are premises and some of which are conclusions. Whether the premises of an argument entail the conclusion is merely a matter of formal structure, and is independant of anyone's belief. But the concept of belief is necessary for inference. Inference occurs only when there is an agent, owing to believing the premises, begins to believe the conclusion with confidance.

In ordinary usage, or comman parlance, however, "infer" has the meaning of "imply". this is a loose usage because, technically, implication is a formal relation between statements, whereas inference is an intensional relation, not a formal relation.

Answer 3

1. the act or process of inferring.
2. something that is inferred: to make rash inferences.
3. Logic. a. the process of deriving the strict logical consequences of assumed premises.
b. the process of arriving at some conclusion that, though it is not logically derivable from the assumed premises, possesses some degree of probability relative to the premises.
c. a proposition reached by a process of inference

examples:
- The editorial contained an inference of foul play in the awarding of the contract.

Answer 4

Different translations of the bible would suggest love and charity are synonmus. Examples found in.1st Corrinthians ch. 13 vs. 1-17 illustrate this many times. I would enjoy hearing from a scholar of the languages used in those past times to clarify my understanding. The story of the "World's Poorest Philanthropist", Gilbert "Harold" Ewing II (myself) is the reason for this querry. The " act of grace", or charity, reffered to in the news interview, has posited this question and I lack the sort of education to provide any insights of true value.

Answer 5

inference |ˈinf(ə)rəns| noun a conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning. • the process of reaching such a conclusion : his emphasis on order and health, and by inference cleanliness. DERIVATIVES inferential |ˌinfəˈren ch əl| adjective inferentially |ˌinfəˈren ch əlē| adverb ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from medieval Latin inferentia, from inferent- ‘bringing in,’ from the verb inferre (see infer ).

Thesaurus
inference noun there should be no inference drawn from the fact that he chooses not to be a witness deduction, conclusion, reasoning, conjecture, speculation, guess, presumption, assumption, supposition, reckoning, extrapolation.

Answer 6

It means to say something not directly but gives the listener the feeling that "this" is what they meant.but leaving doubt as to the truth.. To imply or categorize.
The man inferred that I was gay" , Meaning: That the person did something that left the other person with a sense of something that he, that person, felt in his/her mind, the implication that such was possibly true.

Answer 7

To be simple.. it's a guess.
Based on your knowledge and experience. To infer- is to guess or to extrapolate based on all the information you currently have on hand.

Answer 8

It is a reading comprehension skill. It means using information in text and making connections to either your life, another text, or a world situation to figure out what is going on in the text being read.
In keeping with the holidays, here's a real simple example:

"Who's got boots and a suit of red? Who wears a long cap on his head? Rosy cheeks, and a cherry nose? Laughs like this: Ho! Ho! Ho!? Cap on head, suit of red, cherry nose, ho, ho, ho...
MUST be Santa! MUST be Santa! MUST be Santa, Santa Claus!"

See? The information and what is known from personal experience was used to figure it out. Hence, making an inference is using what you know to figure something out!
Merry Christmas!

Answer 9

genereally you can come to an idea from what you know already it is very clear that he was not present at that time where he was supposed to be. his statement leads to the inference to that effect.

Answer 10

a conclusion arrived at by considering the availiable evidence or premises