Question

In the speech, how does President Eisenhower use abductive reasoning to draw conclusions
about the state of the world?
A. He uses many examples of struggling countries to suggest that the world is changing for
the worse.
B. He describes several places undergoing change to infer that change is happening
worldwide.
C. He uses examples of conflicts around the world to predict what the result of future
conflicts will be.
D. He describes the effects of Communism in a few countries to conclude that it is not a
valid economic system.

Answer 1

B.

Eisenhower observes changes in several specific places and infers the best explanatory hypothesis — that change is occurring worldwide. This is abductive reasoning (inference to the best explanation). The other options describe prediction (C), a value judgment about decline (A), or a normative conclusion about Communism (D), which don't fit abductive inference as used here.