What best describes reaching a logical conclusion based on a major premise and a minor premise?

The statement describes a process of reasoning where a conclusion is derived from two premises: a major premise and a minor premise. This method is known as deductive reasoning. In deductive reasoning, the conclusion follows necessarily from the premises if they are true. For example, if the major premise states that "all humans are mortal" and the minor premise states "Socrates is a human," then one can logically conclude that "Socrates is mortal." This type of reasoning is foundational in logic as it ensures that if the premises are valid, the conclusion must also be valid.

Inductive reasoning, on the other hand, involves drawing general conclusions from specific instances, which is different from the structure provided in the question. Analogical reasoning compares two different things to highlight similarities, and causal reasoning identifies cause-and-effect relationships; neither involves the logical structure of premises leading to a definitive conclusion as in deductive reasoning.