Final answer:
Deductive reasoning is a logical process where true premises are combined to yield a true conclusion. It is a part of logical analysis and is considered powerful due to its ability to guarantee the conclusion's truth based on premises' truth.
Step-by-step explanation:
The process described is known as deductive reasoning, which is a logical process where multiple premises that are believed to be true or found true most of the time are combined to reach a specific conclusion. Deductive reasoning is part of logical analysis, which involves assessing if the premises of an argument support the conclusion in a logically valid way. In a deductive argument, if the premises are true, then the conclusion logically follows and is also true. This form of inference is powerful because it can guarantee the truth of the conclusion, assuming the premises are true.
In logical analysis, a necessary condition refers to something that must be true if another thing is true, and we look for these necessary conditions within the premises of an argument. A premise is evidence or reasoning that supports a conclusion. Deductive arguments can be translated into logical forms, such as the conditional form using symbols like 'P > Q', which help in evaluating the argument's validity. When evaluating an argument, we must consider the logic and truth separately. This involves firstly ensuring the logical structure is valid, and then assessing the premises' truth.
For example, if we have the argument 'If it rains, the ground will be wet. It rains. Therefore, the ground is wet.' Here, the premise 'It rains' guarantees the truth of 'The ground will be wet' through a good deductive inference.