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

FALLACIES. 315
who communicates an infectious disease to another
person harms him. Therefore he who communicates an
infectious disease to another person should be punished.
"
This may or may not be held to be a correct argument
according to the kinds of actions we should consider to
come under the term harm, according as we regard
negligence or malice requisite to constitute harm. Many
difficult legal questions are of this nature, as for in
stance :
Nuisances are punishable by law ;
To keep a noisy dog is a nuisance ;
To keep a noisy dog is punishable by law.
" The question here would turn upon the degree of
nuisance which the law would interfere to prevent. Or
again :
Interference with another man s business is illegal ;
Underselling interferes with another man s business ;
Therefore underselling is illegal.
" Here
the question turns upon the kind of interference,
and it is obvious that underselling is not the kind of
interference referred to in the major premise."
The serious confusion of ambiguous terms can only
be met by careful definition (ch. VI. Part I.)
(2) Ambiguity of structure (a^i(Bo\ia, "amphi
arises when the ambiguous grammatical
boly "). This
structure of a sentence produces misconception :
"The Duke yet lives that Henry shall depose."
"K. Henry VI.," Part II., Act I. sc. iv.
Ambiguities of this kind are more possible in the classical
languages than in English, owing to the possible varia
tions of order in a sentence and to
"
oblique
"
construc
tions, as in the Latin version of the oracle given to