Nice article! I found it thought provoking. Here’s what I’ve come up with:

Genealogy, when evidence is properly evaluated, is inductive. It takes current evidence (often not the entirety of possible evidence) and leads to a conclusion that is either true or false. Naturally the conclusion can be changed as new evidence is found and analyzed.

I don’t think genealogy is deductive. Harkening back to my college logic 101 course: deductive arguments are categorized as to soundness (valid or invalid) not truth. A deductive argument can be valid even when the premises are false. That doesn’t fit genealogical research and the resultant conclusions.

—Ben