undistributed middle

noun

: a syllogistic fallacy in which neither premise conveys information about all members of the class designated by the middle term
the argument “All men are sinners, and all weaklings are sinners, therefore all men are weaklings” says nothing about all sinners and has an undistributed middle

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Cite this Entry

“Undistributed middle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/undistributed%20middle. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

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