Päätelmät

Päätelmä is a Finnish term meaning conclusion or inference. Päätelmät are the conclusions reached through reasoning from premises or evidence. The concept is used across everyday reasoning, philosophy, logic, and the sciences to describe what follows from given information.

In logic, a päätelmä is the statement that follows from premises by a valid inference. An argument consists of premises and a conclusion; the conclusion is a päätelmä if it logically follows from the premises using accepted rules of inference, such as modus ponens or modus tollens. A conclusion is considered sound when the premises are true and the inference is valid.

Two common types are deductive päätelmät, where the conclusion necessarily follows from the premises, and inductive päätelmät, where the conclusion generalizes from observed cases and is probabilistic. In everyday Finnish, the term päätelmä is often used interchangeably with johtopäätös, the latter emphasizing the final conclusion of an argument or discussion.

Usage notes: In research and data analysis, Päätelmät—often called in English conclusions, inferences, or deductions—summarize what the evidence supports. Clear päätelmät require transparent reasoning and explicit premises; flawed reasoning can produce invalid or weak conclusions. The concept forms a foundational element of critical thinking and scholarly argument.