Existential Fallacy
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This page is part of the EvoWiki encyclopedia of fallacies. |
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Synonym
The Fallacy of Existential Assumption
Explanation
You commit this fallacy if you argue that because two universal statements about a group is true, that a member of that group must exist. For example,
- All unicorns are animals.
- Animals exist.
- Therefore, unicorns exist.
The problem with this argument is that the premises don't imply that conclusion is true, because a unicorn doesn't need to exist for it to be classed as an animal. Another example illustrates this:
- Trespassers will be shot.
- People were shot.
- Thus, some of the shot were trespassers.
This reasoning is fallacious because there the universal premise "trespassers will be shot" does not imply that an instant of a trespasser being shot occurred.
