Strength of inductive argument – UGC NET Question

Inductive arguments aim to make their conclusions probable rather than certain. An inductive argument is considered strong when the truth of its premises would make the conclusion very unlikely to be false. This probabilistic standard fits the principle stated in the stem. Hence the description mainly applies to inductive arguments.

Option A:
Option A, symbolic, simply refers to a way of representing arguments using symbols and can apply to many forms. It does not specify a particular probabilistic standard of strength. Therefore symbolic is not the correct answer.

Option B:
Option B, deductive, is evaluated by validity, where it is impossible for true premises to yield a false conclusion. Deduction does not usually talk of degrees of probability or strength. Thus deductive arguments are assessed differently from what the stem describes.

Option C:
Option C, fallacious, denotes arguments containing errors in reasoning. A fallacious argument is weak or invalid by definition and does not satisfy the stated condition. Hence fallacious cannot be correct here.

Option D:
Option D correctly identifies inductive arguments as those judged by how unlikely it is for the premises to be true while the conclusion is false. Strong induction therefore fits the standard mentioned in the question.