Examples
One way to demonstrate the invalidity of this argument form is with a counterexample with true premises but an obviously false conclusion. For example:
- If Bill Gates owns Fort Knox, then he is rich.
- Bill Gates is rich.
- Therefore, Bill Gates owns Fort Knox.
Owning Fort Knox is not the only way to be rich. Any number of other ways exist to be rich.
Arguments of the same form can sometimes seem superficially convincing, as in the following example:
- If I have the flu, then I have a sore throat.
- I have a sore throat.
- Therefore, I have the flu.
But having the flu is not the only cause of a sore throat since many illnesses cause sore throat, such as the common cold or strep throat.
The following is a more subtle version of the fallacy embedded into conversation.
- A: All Republicans are against gun control.
- B: That's not true. My uncle's against gun control and he's not a Republican.
B attempts to falsify A's conditional statement ("if Republican then against gun control") by providing evidence he believes would contradict its implication. However, B's example of his uncle does not contradict A's statement, which says nothing about non-Republicans. What would be needed to disprove A's assertion are examples of Republicans who support gun control.
Read more about this topic: Affirming The Consequent
Famous quotes containing the word examples:
“There are many examples of women that have excelled in learning, and even in war, but this is no reason we should bring ‘em all up to Latin and Greek or else military discipline, instead of needle-work and housewifry.”
—Bernard Mandeville (1670–1733)
“It is hardly to be believed how spiritual reflections when mixed with a little physics can hold people’s attention and give them a livelier idea of God than do the often ill-applied examples of his wrath.”
—G.C. (Georg Christoph)
“In the examples that I here bring in of what I have [read], heard, done or said, I have refrained from daring to alter even the smallest and most indifferent circumstances. My conscience falsifies not an iota; for my knowledge I cannot answer.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)