The _Syllogism_ consists of three propositions, the first two of which express the grounds or basis of the argument and are called the _premises_; the third expresses the inference derived from a comparison of the other two and is called the _conclusion_. We shall not enter into a technical consideration of the Syllogism in this book, as the subject is considered in detail in the volume of this series devoted to the subject of "Logic." Our concern here is to point out the natural process and course of Reasoning, rather than to consider the technical features of the process. Reasoning is divided into two general classes, known respectively as (1) _Inductive Reasoning_; (2) _Deductive Reasoning_. _Inductive Reasoning_ is the process of arriving at a general truth, law or principle from a consideration of many particular facts and truths. Thus, if we find that a certain thing is true of a great number of particular objects, we may infer that the same thing is true of _all_ objects of this particular kind. In one of the examples given above, one of the judgments was that "all fish are cold-blooded animals," which general truth was arrived at by Inductive Reasoning based upon the examination of a great number of fish, and from thence assuming that _all_ fish are true to this general law of truth. _Deductive Reasoning_ is the reverse of Inductive Reasoning, and is a process of arriving at a particular truth from the assumption of a general truth. Thus, from the assumption that "all fish are cold-blooded animals," we, by Deductive Reasoning, arrive at the conclusion that the particular fish before us must be cold-blooded. Inductive Reasoning proceeds upon the basic principle that "_What is true of the many is true of the whole_," while Deductive Reasoning proceeds upon the basic principle that "_What is true of the whole is true of its parts_."