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e often confronted with a bunch of data, and wonder what inference we should draw. For example, a hospital may notice that today there is a statistically abnormal increase in the number of patients admitted to the emergency department suffering from food poisoning. So, what inference can be drawn? First, we look to see if there are any common factors among the patients. What did they have to eat in the last 24 hours? Did they dine at any restaurants – if so which ones? Did they purchase and consume take-away cooked food – if so, what items and from what vendors? Perhaps it turns out that they all purchased and consumed battered kangaroo-burgers from the ‘El Greasy Spoon’ food-to-go drive in take away on Main Street. This prompts them to form the hypothesis that the battered kangaroo-burgers were contaminated. This leads them to take the next step; ask the authorities to send inspectors to the vendor’s premises and to issue a public health warning to avoid the product pending the outcome of the investigation.

This is a simple example of reasoning forwards. You wonder what conclusion to draw and, drawing on your experience and general knowledge, you come up with a set of possible explanations, and then proceed to narrow them down.

Now consider the following example. You are engaged in conversation with someone who as yet does not speak English very well. In the course of your conversation you describe a statement by a local politician as “ridiculous”. The other person is not sure what this means, so you explain the meaning of “ridiculous”, possibly with a few examples, until he gets it. He then expresses puzzlement that he has not come across this word before, and asks you whether you are sure “ridiculous” is an English word. You reply, “Of course it is – you will find it in any English dictionary.”

What you did was justify your statement that it was an English word, by pointing to its inclusion in any standard English dictionary. And that is a pretty good everyday justification. But, your inquisitive interlocutor asks, “Have you ever looked it up?” Being always honest you reply “No – but I’ll bet you $5.00 you will find it there.” Impressed by your willingness to put your money where your mouth is, he accepts your justification and changes the subject.

Notice the difference (in structure, not just in content) in this case from the first. In the first case you thought your way forward to your conclusion; in effect you asked yourself what conclusion am I justified in drawing, at least provisionally, from this data set. And that is typical of the way a researcher in the natural or social sciences works; it is how diplomats work when they are trying to detect changes in the international situation, or a detective who is trying to determine a motive for a crime. But in the second case it was not our reading it in an English dictionary that led us to conclude that “ridiculous” was an English word. Rather, it was our certainty that “ridiculous” was an English word that led us to conclude that it would be found in any standard English dictionary. This second case is one of backwards justification. Most of us could not say what led us to believe it was an English word – we have forgotten, or it was just an incidental part of the process of learning to speak English, either as a native or as a second language. Normally, you provide a backwards justification when someone challenges something you believe, or when 本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。