From General to Specific

Deductive reasoning starts with broad premises and reaches specific conclusions. If all mammals are warm-blooded and a dog is a mammal, then the dog must be warm-blooded. The conclusion cannot be false if the premises are true.

This airtight logic is deduction's strength and limitation — it only works when premises are correct. The practical value is in testing consistency: map any argument as premises and conclusion to check if it holds.