In order to illustrate the application of the principles above expressed, let us reduce an enthymeme to the syllogistic form. We shall take for our example the enthymeme, “The railroads of the United States should be under Federal control because they are a natural monopoly.” The parts of a syllogism which are expressed in this statement must be found and of these the conclusion should be first determined. In this case the conclusion is “The railroads of the United States should be under Federal control.” “Railroads of the United States,” is the minor term, and “should be under Federal control” is the major term. Now, to represent what we have thus far discovered we apply the order of statements and terms which were employed in the discussion of Deductive Reasoning. The result is as follows:
| I. Major Premise: | |
| Major term | |
| should be under Federal control. | |
| II. Minor Premise: | |
| Minor term | |
| The railroads of the United States | |
| III. Conclusion: | |
| Minor term | Major term |
| The railroads of the United States | should be under Federal control. |
We thus have the entire syllogism completed with the exception of the middle term. Our next task is to find this middle term. It must include the minor term and it must be included in the major term. A reference to the diagrams given in connection with the discussion of Deductive Reasoning will make this plain. With this requirement in mind we consider the enthymeme and find that the reason assigned for placing railroads under Federal control is that they are a natural monopoly. This gives us the middle term as it appears in the minor premise. We then take this middle term and cast it into the universal affirmative form, “All natural monopolies.” We now have the enthymeme with which we started out, reduced to the following syllogistic form:
Major Premise: All natural monopolies should be under Federal control.
Minor Premise: The railroads of the United States are a natural monopoly.
Conclusion: Therefore the railroads of the United States should be under Federal control.
This places clearly before us the deductive argument contained in the enthymeme. The syllogism is complete. The statements and terms are in their proper order and form, and the conclusion follows logically and inevitably from the premises. The form of the syllogism as it stands is therefore sound. If the two premises are true as a matter of fact, the conclusion must be true. Having determined these matters we now scrutinize each of the premises to see whether there is sufficient evidence to establish its truth. In the first place is it true that all natural monopolies should be under Federal control? What is a natural monopoly and why should it be under Federal control? All the sources of evidence must be searched for facts and statements of authority to substantiate this assertion. On this point opinions differ and the student must strive to find out the truth for himself. The other question which he must answer is, “Are the railroads of the United States a natural monopoly?” Here again the student must resort to the sources of evidence and by their aid answer the question in the affirmative or in the negative. If he can introduce enough evidence to prove that all natural monopolies in the United States should be under Federal control, and that the railroads are a natural monopoly, then he has completed a sound deductive argument in favor of the Federal control of railroads. This example ought to make clear the method of reducing an enthymeme to the syllogistic form and the use to which this form may then be put.
Before leaving this subject a word of caution is necessary. Do not be confused by the form in which the enthymeme appears. Be sure that you have the real conclusion before you begin the construction of the rest of the syllogism. If you have failed to grasp what the enthymeme really says you are liable to get a wrong conclusion, and if you get a wrong conclusion the whole syllogism will be wrong. High sounding oratorical phrases and sentences are often confusing. Plainness is sometimes avoided by the speaker for the express purpose of concealing a fault in his argument. Even truth expressed in an unusual form is often misleading when we seek to reduce it to logical terms.
Some difficulty is usually experienced in reducing the beatitudes to the typical syllogistic form. For example, in reducing the enthymeme “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God,” the inexperienced student usually says that the conclusion is, “The blessed shall see God.” A syllogism built upon this conclusion would appear as follows:
1. All those who are pure in heart shall see God.