Illustrations of Reduction; and Comparison of Hypothetical and Categorical Fallacies:
Hypothetical Form:
(1) If it has rained, the ground is damp;
It has rained,
∴ The ground is damp.
Categorical Form:
A M
The falling rain makes the G
ground damp,
A S
In this case rain has M
fallen,
A ∴ S
In this case the ground is G
damp ground.
It is seen that the argument in the hypothetical form is valid as the minor premise affirms the antecedent. Reducing to the categorical gives to the argument the mode