Generalisation Fallacies
(1) Too little: The insistence that it is not justifiable to make any statement at all unless you can give a complete story, covering every detail; the refusal to draw general conclusions, or meaning of any kind, from the particular.G9
(2) Too much: A generalisation which misleads by:
a. asserting or assuming that what happened in one case, or a few cases, happens in most or all cases (Memory Fillers); or
b. by leaving out essential details; or
c. by failing to recognise exceptions.
—
In fact, it is dubious to think of either of these as a fallacy. Lean Logic asserts the case both for intense awareness of the local detail, and for using local detail to build principles as a frame of reference, allowing what is going on to be understood. The problem with generalisation arises because it may be done badly, not because it is attempted.
Related entries:
« Back to List of Entries