Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A faulty generalization is an informal fallacy wherein a conclusion is drawn about all or many instances of a phenomenon on the basis of one or a few instances of that phenomenon. It is similar to a proof by example in mathematics. [1] It is an example of jumping to conclusions. [2]
Faulty generalization – reaching a conclusion from weak premises. Accident – an exception to a generalization is ignored. [50] No true Scotsman (aka appeal to purity) – makes a generalization true by changing the generalization to exclude a counterexample. [51]
A special subclass of the informal fallacies is the set of faulty generalizations, also known as inductive fallacies. Here, the most important issue concerns inductive strength or methodology (for example, statistical inference). In the absence of sufficient evidence, drawing conclusions based on induction is unwarranted and fallacious.
[1] [9] For example, false dilemmas or begging the question are fallacies despite being deductively valid. They are studied by informal logic . [ 17 ] [ 12 ] Part of the difficulty in analyzing informal fallacies is due to the fact that their structure is not always clearly expressed in natural language. [ 1 ]
Part of understanding fallacies involves going beyond logic to empirical psychology in order to explain why there is a tendency to commit or fall for the fallacy in question. [ 9 ] [ 1 ] In the case of the false dilemma , the tendency to simplify reality by ordering it through either-or-statements may play an important role.
For example: Almost all people are taller than 26 inches; Gareth is a person; Therefore, Gareth is taller than 26 inches; Premise 1 (the major premise) is a generalization, and the argument attempts to draw a conclusion from that generalization. In contrast to a deductive syllogism, the premises logically support or confirm the conclusion ...
In logic and mathematics, proof by example (sometimes known as inappropriate generalization) is a logical fallacy whereby the validity of a statement is illustrated through one or more examples or cases—rather than a full-fledged proof. [1] [2] The structure, argument form and formal form of a proof by example generally proceeds as follows ...
[1] [2] A generalization that is largely true may not apply in a specific case (or to some subcategory of cases) for good reasons. It is one of the thirteen fallacies originally identified by Aristotle in Sophistical Refutations. For example: People who commit crimes are criminals. Cutting people with knives is a crime.