Generalizing

I found the concept of generalizing in chapter 14 to be both interesting and useful. The chapter explained that we generalize when we conclude a claim about about a group, the population, from a claim about some part of it, the sample. When one generalizes, they are making an argument. The term generalization was also defined in this section. It is the general claim that is the conclusion. This term can also be used to describe the entire argument. Inductive evidence was also explained in this section. Inductive evidence for the generalization is the plausible premises about the sample. The only way we can determine if a generalization is good is to see it as an argument. The examples in the section were very helpful and they allowed me to better understand generalizing. An example that was given showed that just because a study taken in one city shows that people are not satisfied with a type of SUV, it does not mean that people everywhere are not satisfied with their SUV's.