Plural of conclusion; the end or final part of something, or judgments reached through reasoning and evidence. Final decisions or outcomes based on analysis.
From Latin 'conclusionem' (a closing, end), from 'concludere' meaning 'to shut up, enclose,' from 'com-' (together) and 'claudere' (to shut). The logical reasoning sense developed in medieval scholastic philosophy, where formal conclusions were drawn from premises in syllogistic arguments.
The word 'conclusion' literally means 'shutting together' - a perfect metaphor for how logical thinking works by bringing separate pieces of evidence together into a closed, complete understanding. In formal logic, a conclusion is only as strong as its weakest premise, making the 'shutting' metaphor even more apt.
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