Inductive arguments take specific premises to make general conclusions. a strong inductive argument is most probably the case, and a weak inductive argument is most likely not the case. a causal inductive argument is very similar. it works like this: when x happens then y happens. x probably causes y. consider these two causal inductive arguments:

1. every day of my life, the sun has risen in the morning. tomorrow morning is another day; therefore the sun will probably rise.
2. every time i flick this switch, the living room light goes on. therefore this switch probably controls the living room light.

discussion questions:

1. do these arguments seem obvious? why or why not?
2. understanding the structure of inductive arguments, how do you rate the strength or weakness of perceived causal relationships within arguments?

Suppose an economist believes that the price level in the economy is directly related to the money supply, or the amount of money circulating in the economy. the economist proposes the following relationship: p=a x m - p=price level - m=money supply - a=a composite of other factors, including real gdp, that change very slowly over time. how might an economist gather empirical data to test the proposed relationship between money and the price level? an economist would persuade the federal reserve to change the money supply to various levels, and observe the resulting changes in the price level. unlike researchers in the hard sciences, economists cannot study complex relationships using data. economists do not usually develop theoretical models of the economy but only analyze summary statistics about the current state of the economy. an economist would look for data on past changes in the money supply, and note the resulting changes in the price level

When using various forms of promotion to carry the promotion message, it is important that the recipients of the message interpret it in the same way. creating a unified promotional message, where potential customers perceive the same message, whether it is in a tv commercial, or on a billboard, or in a blog, is called

Martha entered into a contract with terry, an art dealer. according to the contract, terry was to supply 18 th century artifacts to martha for the play she was directing, and martha was ready to pay $50,000 for this. another director needed the same artifacts and was ready to pay $60,000. terry decided not to sell the artifacts to martha. in this case, the court may order terry to: