Analytical Thinking

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Analytical reasoning, also known as analytical thinking, refers to the ability to look at information, be it qualitative or quantitative in nature, and discern patterns within the information. Analytical reasoning involves deductive reasoning with no specialised knowledge, such as: comprehending the basic structure of a set of relationships; recognizing logically equivalent statements; and inferring what could be true or must be true from given facts and rules. Analytical reasoning is axiomatic in that its truth is self-evident. In contrast, synthetic reasoning requires that we include empirical observations, which are always open to doubt. The specific terms “analytic” and “synthetic” themselves were introduced by Kant (1781) at the beginning of his Critique of Pure Reason.

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