Too Broad

This page is part of the EvoWiki encyclopedia of fallacies.

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Synonyms

This fallacy occurs if when defining a term, instances are included that aren't usually called by that term.

For example:

A fish is an aquatic vertebrate.

This definition would include animals like whales and turtles, which are usually not considered fish, so needs to be refined:

A fish is a cold-blooded aquatic vertebrate with two sets of paired fins and covered with scales.

This definition now excludes those animals that wouldn't be considered fish.