Examples
1. Every person has a woman that is their mother. Therefore, there is a woman that is the mother of every person.
- xy(Px → (Wy & M(yx))) therefore yx(Wy → (Px & M(yx)))
It is fallacious to conclude that there is one woman who is the mother of all people.
However, if the major premise ("every person has a woman that is their mother") is assumed to be true, then it is valid to conclude that there is some woman who is any given person's mother.
2. Everybody has something to believe in. Therefore, there is something that everybody believes in.
- xy Bxy therefore yx Bxy
It is fallacious to conclude that there is some particular concept to which everyone subscribes.
It is valid to conclude that each person believes a given concept. But it is entirely possible that each person believes in a unique concept.
Read more about this topic: Quantifier Shift
Famous quotes containing the word examples:
“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)
“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)
“No rules exist, and examples are simply life-savers answering the appeals of rules making vain attempts to exist.”
—André Breton (1896–1966)