the process of using your mind to consider something carefully

the abstract separation of a whole into its constituent parts in order to study the parts and their relations

a course of reasoning aimed at demonstrating a truth or falsehood; the methodical process of logical reasoning

reasoning that involves the formation of conclusions from incomplete evidence

reasoning from the general to the particular (or from cause to effect)

the reasoning involved in drawing a conclusion or making a logical judgment on the basis of circumstantial evidence and prior conclusions rather than on the basis of direct observation