Minor Premise (Noun)
Meaning
The premise of a syllogism that contains the minor term (which is the subject of the conclusion).
Classification
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.
Examples
- The syllogism relies on a clear and logical connection between the major and minor premises to arrive at a valid conclusion.
- The argument falls apart when the minor premise is shown to be based on faulty assumptions and inadequate evidence.
- The student struggled to identify the minor premise in the complex syllogism, which hindered her ability to analyze the argument effectively.
- The philosopher's criticism of the argument focused on the flawed minor premise, which she argued undermined the entire conclusion.
- The logical error in the argument became apparent when the minor premise was reevaluated in light of new information and found to be false.