What is the brief definition for abductive reasoning and what are examples for abductive reasoning?

Answer 1

Abductive reasoning means to take away a logical assumption, explanation, or best guess from an observation. Since the conclusion is only a best guess, the conclusion may or may not be true.

An example for abductive reasoning would be jury duty decisions. I will play out a scenario for you: Say you're a juror and the defendant looks like the person on the security camera stealing the car. He fidgets and stutters like he is guilty, when answering the questions from the prosecutor. You conclude, as it's your first day as a juror, that he is guilty, but you are not certain. Here you have made a decision based on your observations, but you are not certain if it is the right decision.