An introductory text-book of logic - Mellone, Sydney - Rare Books at ...

AND THE ARISTOTELIAN SYLLOGISM. 127
of self-government, and that nations capable
of self-
government should not receive laws from a despotic
government, therefore no nation should receive laws from
1
a despotic government, we should be clearly exceeding
the contents of our premises. The minor term, many
nations, was particular
not be made universal
in
in
the
the
minor premise, and must
conclusion. The premises
do not warrant a statement concerning anything but the
many nations capable of self-government" An illicit pro
cess of the minor is generally easy to detect ; in the case
of the major, it is much less apparent. The following
for a
example, given by Professor Creighton, might pass
correct syllogism, especially as the conclusion may be
accepted as true: "All rational beings are responsible for
their actions ; brutes are not rational beings ; therefore
brutes are not responsible for their actions." The form
is
MaP,
SeM;
.\~SeP.
Here the major term P- i.e., "beings responsible for their
actions" is distributed in the conclusion, but was not
distributed when it appeared as the predicate of an A
proposition in the major premise. Hence we have an illicit
major. The major premise only tells us that
"
rational
"
beings are some at least
"
of beings responsible for their
actions." As far as this proposition is
may
concerned, there
be responsible beings who are not rational. Hence
the exclusion of brutes from the class "rational
beings"
does not necessarily exclude them from the class
sible beings."
"
respon
The rule forbids us to take more of a term in the
conclusion than is referred to in the premise ; but it
1 The form of the syllogism, as stated by Jevons, is this :
SiM,
MePj
. . SePT
with the minor premise first. It is evident that S is distributed in
the conclusion and not in the minor premise.