Illicit process

	Cogito ergo sum; Logic and rhetoric
	Key articles
	Logical fallacy; Syllogism; Argument;
	General logic
	Quod erat demonstrandum; Loaded language; List of cognitive biases; Rogerian argument; Magical thinking; Phantom distinction;
	Bad logic
	Slippery slope; Appeal to celebrity; Overprecision; Four-term fallacy; Post-designation; Argumentum ad lunam; v - t - e

An illicit process (abbreviated IP) and its two sub-forms, the illicit major and the illicit minor, is a logical fallacy in which a flawed conclusion is reached by improper distribution of the terms in the conclusion in the premises.

This fallacy is a syllogistic fallacy and a formal fallacy.

Explanation[edit]

Distribution is really about how much of the group you're talking about. An undistributed S (subject) means you're talking about some of the group but not all of it. A distributed S means you're talking about the group as a whole. Illicit process is the fallacy that arises from drawing a deductive conclusion about the entire group based on part of the group. This means illicit process is a one-way fallacy. If we have a distributed S in the premise, we can draw an undistributed conclusion because we're drawing a conclusion about part of the group based on all of the group. But we can't draw a conclusion about all based on a few.

Form[edit]

An illicit process has two forms. The subject is the major term and the predicate is the minor term. Undistributed will be abbreviated U and distributed will be D but will only be put after the major or minor term to clarify what the fallacy is exactly.

Illicit major[edit]

P1: All M are S (U).

P2: Some P are not M.

C: Some P are not S (D).

Alternately:

P1: All Middle are Subject (U).

P2: Some Predicate are not Middle.

C: Some Predicate are not Subject (D).

Illicit minor[edit]

P1: All M are S.

P2: All M are P (U).

C: All P (D) are S.

Alternately:

P1: All Middle are Subject.

P2: All Middle are Predicate (U).

C: All Predicate (D) are Subject.

Examples[edit]

Illicit major[edit]

P1: All dogs are mammals.

P2: No cats are dogs.

C: Therefore, no cats are mammals.

In this argument, the major term is "mammals". This is distributed in the conclusion (the last statement) because we are making a claim about a property of all mammals: that they are not cats. However, it is not distributed in the major premise (the first statement) where we are only talking about a property of some mammals: only some mammals are dogs.

Illicit minor[edit]

P1: All cats are felines.

P2: All cats are mammals.

C: All mammals are felines.

The minor term here is mammal, which is not distributed in the minor premise "All cats are mammals," because this premise is only defining a property of possibly some mammals (i.e., that they're cats.) However, in the conclusion "All mammals are felines," mammal is distributed (it is talking about all mammals being felines). It is shown to be false by any mammal that is not a feline; for example, a dog.

Anti-evolution[edit]

In his critique of a creationist article on genetic recombination, Alec MacAndrew identifies several logical flaws including the illicit process of the following form:^[1]

P1: All recombination causes change in DNA sequences.

P2: All recombination is regulated by cellular mechanisms.

C: Therefore, all changes in DNA sequence are regulated by cellular mechanisms.

The flaw is that, while recombination may cause change in DNA sequences, it is not proposed as causing all change in DNA sequences. However, the conclusion is about all DNA sequences. The major premise does not distribute across all DNA sequences while the conclusion does.

Illicit observation[edit]

An illicit observation is not an error of illicit process. It occurs when two terms that seem to be opposite (but aren't) are used as if they are opposites.

The fallacy is a combination of equivocation and a four-term fallacy and is a fallacy of ambiguity.

External links[edit]

Illicit process, illicit major, illicit minor, Fallacy Files
Syllogistic fallacies, Lander University
Illicit Observation, Atheism/Agnosticism About.com
Illicit Minor, Stephen Downes

References[edit]

↑ Alec MacAndrew's Genetic Recombination Misused, a critique of Christopher Ashcroft's A New Look at Genetic Recombination

[1] Alec MacAndrew's Genetic Recombination Misused, a critique of Christopher Ashcroft's A New Look at Genetic Recombination

[1]

v - t - e Articles about logical fallacies
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	Ad hoc:		No True Scotsman • Moving the goalposts • Escape hatch • Handwave • Special pleading • Slothful induction • Nirvana fallacy • God of the gaps • PIDOOMA • Ad hoc • Tone argument •
	Arguments from ignorance:		Science doesn't know everything • Argument from incredulity • Argument from silence • Toupee fallacy • Appeal to censorship • Science was wrong before • Holmesian fallacy • Argument from omniscience • Willful ignorance • Argument from ignorance •
	Causation fallacies:		Post hoc, ergo propter hoc • Correlation does not imply causation • Wrong direction • Counterfactual fallacy • Regression fallacy • Gambler's fallacy • Denying the antecedent • Genuine but insignificant cause •
	Circular reasoning:		Infinite regress • Argument by assertion • Argumentum ad dictionarium • Appeal to faith • Circular reasoning • Self-refuting idea •
	Emotional appeals:		Appeal to fear • Appeal to emotion • Appeal to confidence • Deepity • Argumentum ad baculum • Appeal to shame • Appeal to flattery • Tone argument • Appeal to money • Argumentum ad fastidium • Appeal to gravity • Appeal to consequences • Loaded language • Style over substance • Appeal to pity • Appeal to hate • Pathos gambit • Shaming • Degenerate • Abomination •
	Fallacies of ambiguity:		Fallacy of accent • Equivocation • Fallacy of amphiboly • Quote mining • Fallacy of ambiguity • Moral equivalence • Scope fallacy • Suppressed correlative • Not as bad as • Etymology • Continuum fallacy • Wronger than wrong • Definitional fallacies • Code word • Phantom distinction •
Formal fallacies:			Confusion of the inverse • Denying the antecedent • Non sequitur • Affirmative conclusion from a negative premise • Not even wrong • Chewbacca Defense • Affirming a disjunct • Four-term fallacy • Negative conclusion from affirmative premises • Fallacy fallacy • Substituting explanation for premise • Enthymeme • Syllogism • Formal fallacy • Existential assumption • Masked man fallacy • Self-refuting idea • Argument by gibberish • One single proof • Affirming the consequent • False dilemma • Conjunction fallacy •
Fallacious arguments:			Bumblebee argument • Fatwa envy • Gotcha argument • Hoyle's fallacy • Intuition pump • Logic and Creation • Not Circular Reasoning • Peanut butter argument • Great Beethoven fallacy • Fallacy of unique founding conditions • Evil is the absence of God • Argument from first cause • How do you know? Were you there? • Argument from design • Argument from beauty • Appeal to nature • Solferino fallacy • Religious scientists • Nothing to hide • Argument from fine tuning • Creep shaming • "I used to be an atheist" • Atheism as a religion • Argumentum ad populum • Argument from morality • Anti-environmentalism • Appeal to bias • Apophasis • Argumentum ad nauseam • Appeal to censorship • Argumentum ad sarcina inserta • Blaming the victim • Bait-and-switch • Danth's Law • Chewbacca Defense • Canard • DARVO • Demonization • Escape hatch • Friend argument • Everyone is racist • Gish Gallop • Greece-baiting • Gore's Law • Ham Hightail • Just asking questions • Leading question • Loaded language • Linking to authority • Loaded question • Lying by omission • Motte and bailey • Nazi analogies • Moving the goalposts • One single proof • Pink-baiting • One-way hash argument • Pathos gambit • Quote mining • Poisoning the well • Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur • Race card • Red-baiting • Red herring • Release the data • Science was wrong before • Shill gambit • Straw man • Silent Majority • Uncertainty tactic • Style over substance • Terrorism-baiting • Weasel word • What's the harm (logical fallacy) • Whataboutism • Bullshit • Logical fallacy • Banana argument • Scapegoat • How come there are still monkeys? • Anti-racist is a code word for anti-white • Ontological argument • Omnipotence paradox • Presuppositionalism • Just a joke • Countless counterfeits fallacy •
Conditional fallacies:			Slippery slope • What's the harm (logical fallacy) • Special pleading • Conditional fallacy • On the spot fallacy • Appeal to the minority • Argumentum ad populum • Galileo gambit • Professor of nothing •
	Genetic fallacies:		Genetic fallacy •
		Appeals to authority:	Ipse dixit • Appeal to confidence • Argumentum ad populum • Argument from authority • Linking to authority • Silent Majority • Invincible authority • Appeal to celebrity • Ultracrepidarianism • Appeal to the minority • Galileo gambit • Appeal to identity • Weasel word • Professor of nothing • Euthyphro dilemma • Divine command theory •
		Ad hominem:	Ad iram • Argumentum ad cellarium • Bulverism • Poisoning the well • Blaming the victim • Tu quoque • Whataboutism • Nutpicking • Jonanism • Demonization • Shill gambit • Appeal to bias • Fallacy of opposition • Association fallacy • Damning with faint praise • Pathos gambit • Appeal to identity • Argumentum ad hominem • Nazi analogies • Not an argument • Nothing to hide • Scapegoat • 地下室论证 •
	Imprecision fallacies:		Apex fallacy • Overprecision • Cherry picking • Overgeneralization • Texas sharpshooter fallacy • False analogy • Appeal to fiction • Spotlight fallacy • Pragmatic fallacy • Selection bias • Anecdotal evidence • Category mistake • Nutpicking • Imprecision fallacy • Confounding factor • Fallacy of accident • Neyman's bias •
Valid logical methods:			Rapoport's Rules • Negative evidence • Reductio ad absurdum •
Fallacy collections:			SeekFind • Nizkor Project • Fallacy Files • Your Logical Fallacy Is • Logically Fallacious •

Illicit process

Contents

Explanation[edit]

Form[edit]

Illicit major[edit]

Illicit minor[edit]

Examples[edit]

Illicit major[edit]

Illicit minor[edit]

Anti-evolution[edit]

Illicit observation[edit]

See also[edit]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

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