What is deduction in scientific reasoning?

Deduction in scientific reasoning specifically refers to the process of taking general principles or laws and applying them to specific cases to make predictions or conclusions about those particular instances. This method typically starts with a broad hypothesis or theory and progresses to a specific conclusion that logically follows from that premise.

For instance, if one has a general principle, such as "All mammals are warm-blooded," one could deduce that "A dolphin is a mammal; therefore, a dolphin is warm-blooded." This shows how general knowledge is applied to a specific scenario. The other methods listed involve different approaches to reasoning: moving from specific observations to broader generalizations describes induction, while creating new hypotheses involves generating ideas rather than drawing conclusions. Testing existing theories focuses more on experimentation and validation rather than the logical application of general principles to specific cases.