Induction, from the Latin inductĭo , is the action and effect of inducing (persuading, instigating, causing). For example: “The child acted in this way because of the induction of his parents” , “The leader of the sect worked hard in the induction of his followers” , “I do not tolerate politicians who go out of their way to induce their protesters to protest against the government ” .
It is a term that is made up of three Latin components: the prefix "in-", which is synonymous with "inward"; the verb "ducere", which can be translated as "lead"; and finally the suffix "-cion", which is equivalent to "action and effect".
Within areas such as chemistry and physics, it is also common to use the term at hand. Specifically, in these cases we can say that there are two main types of induction:
• Magnetic induction, which is the density of magnetic flux that produces an electric charge in motion and which is closely related to its direction. It is measured using the unit called tesla and whose symbol is B.
• Electromagnetic induction, which is the creation of electromotive force in a body from the influence exerted on it by a magnetic field. It should be noted that it was created in 1831 by the British physicist Michael Faraday.
In addition to all this, it must be stressed that the word that we are now analyzing is also used in the field of medicine. Specifically in this field we talk about what is known as labor induction, which is the set of actions that are carried out with the purpose of triggering the moment of the baby's birth.
When the health of the mother or child is in danger, when it is too large or when the gestation weeks have passed, this procedure is performed.
For philosophy, induction is the procedure that consists of extracting, from particular observations or experiences, the general principle that is implicit in them. This means that inductive reasoning allows a general conclusion to be obtained from premises with particular data.
An example of induction, in this sense, occurs when after observing different events of the same nature, a conclusion is drawn that is considered valid for all events of that nature. If a footballer has kicked eight penalties in his career and they all shot to the left side of the goalkeeper, it is possible to induce that the ninth penalty will also kick him in that direction.
In a similar sense, a boy travels to the Patagonian coast with his parents to see whales and the first four specimens he sees are black. Therefore, it induces that all whales are black.
Induction, of course, is not a foolproof procedure. A person who does not have any knowledge about the population of Ivory Coast and attends a basketball game of his selected team, may notice that all the players are over 1.90 meters. Noting that the twelve people you know from Côte d'Ivoire have this height, you may by induction believe that all Ivorians are over 1.90 meters, which is not true.