Argument from genus

Birds have emotions because all animals have emotions

The subjects are different and the predicates are the same, so the argument form is beta (a is X because b is X): “Birds (a) have emotions (X) because all animals (b) have emotions (X)”.

The conclusion is a particular statement (p) and the premise a universal statement (u), so the argument substance is ‘pu’: “Birds have emotions (p) because all animals have emotions (u)”.

The keyword GENUS describes the relationship between subjects a and b. The argument lever can thus be formulated as “Birds (a) belong to the GENUS of animals (b)” or “animals (b) is the GENUS of birds (a)”.

Other examples

Notes

Apart from beta form arguments with substance ‘su’, those with substance ‘sp’ or ‘pu’ also fit the scheme as the scope of the conclusion is smaller than that of the premise.

Different from ‘argument from totality’, which is an appropriate name for any beta form argument with substance ‘su’, ‘sp’, or ‘pu’, in the tradition, the name ‘argument from genus’ is reserved for arguments with factual predicates (F).