Fallacy of the division
The fallacy of division denotes the logical fallacy from the whole to its parts. Example: “This rose is red. It's made up of atoms. So their atoms are red ”.
In traditional logic, the fallacy is formulated in such a way that in a simple categorical syllogism the middle term in the major clause is related to a group of individuals, while in the minor clause it relates to the individual individuals of this group. In the terminology of syllogistics it is also said that the middle term in the major clause is not distributed .
| Example: |
|---|
| The Athenians decided on war and peace in the popular assembly. | |
| Demosthenes was an Athenian. | |
| Fallacy: | Demosthenes decided on war and peace in the popular assembly. |
The logical error Sensus compositi et divisi is related .
The reverse case, the wrong conclusion from the parts to the whole, is called the fallacy of the composition .
Examples
- "How can you love your country without loving its people?" (Ronald Reagan)
- Germany is a rich country. So every German is rich.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b after Normand Baillargeon: Intellectual Self-Defense . Seven Stories Press 2007, p. 73
- ↑ after Douglas J. Soccio, Vincent E. Barry: Practical Logic: An Antidote for Uncritical Thinking Wadsworth Publishing, 1991, ISBN 978-0030739071 , p. 119