***
'He who is most hungry eats most; he who eats least is most hungry; therefore he who eats least eats most.'—A fallacy of accident: he who eats least does not at the same time eat most.
***
'Whatever body is in motion must move either in the place where it is, or in the place where it is not; neither of these is possible; therefore there is no such thing as motion.'—It is an abuse of reason to attempt to disprove matters of fact. The conclusion of an argument being always problematical, it can have no force against actual experience. We experience motion, therefore it cannot be disproved.
***
'A wise lawgiver must either recognise the rewards and punishments of a future state, or he must be able to appeal to an extraordinary Providence, dispensing them regularly in this life; Moses did not do the former, therefore he must have done the latter'—(Warburton, from Whately).—The reasoner omitted to establish that Moses was a wise lawgiver, so that the precedent does not apply to his case, except by courtesy.
***
'That man is independent of the caprices of fortune who places his chief happiness in moral and intellectual excellence; a true philosopher is independent of the caprices of fortune; therefore a true philosopher is one who places his chief happiness in moral and intellectual excellence.' An instance of cross reasoning.
| I. | |
| He who places | is independent |
| Philosopher is independent | N. C. |
***