Argument from subsumption

These prisoners have been subjected to torture because they have been subjected to waterboarding.

Since “they” refers to “these prisoners”, it is easy to see that the argument form is alpha (a is X because a is Y): “These prisoners (a) have been subjected to torture (X) because they (a) have been subjected to waterboarding (Y)”.

The conclusion is a statement of value (V) and the premise a statement of fact (F), so the argument substance is VF: “These prisoners have been subjected to torture (V) because they have been subjected to waterboarding (F)”.

The keyword SUBSUMPTION describes the relationship between predicates Y and X. The argument lever can thus be formulated as “Having been subjected to waterboarding (Y) can be SUBSUMED under having been subjected to torture (X)”.

Other examples

Notes

“These prisoners have been subjected to torture” is a statement of value (V), as “torture” is a legal qualification. Depending on context, one could argue that “having been subjected to waterboarding” is also a statement of value (V).