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, 13:57, April 6, 2007
A '''deduction''' in [[formal logic]] is a conclusion drawn from premises or facts. Such a deduction is said to "follow" from previously stated propositions via certain logical rules.
The most famous rule goes as follows:
#A is true.
#If A is true, then B is true.
#Therefore, B is true.
A lesser know rule is:
#If Q is true, then R is true.
#R is not true.
#Therefore, Q is not true.
Aristotle codified the rules of deduction two millenia ago in [[Ancient Greece]]. He also added 256 rules about groups of things. For example:
#All men are mortal.
#Socrates as a man.
#Therefore, Socrates is mortal.