How to Think #5: Calemes

Psychologists have proven with experiments that some syllogisms are far more difficult for people to understand and process than others.
The syllogism called Calemes is tough for me.
Somehow the way information flows through this syllogism is not the way information flows through my brain.
That just means I need more practice with this one!

In symbols Calemes looks like this:

1. All P's are M's
2. No M's are S's
3. Therefore, No S's are P's.

We might use Calemes in an argument like this:

1. All good Presidents are politically skillful
2. No politically skillful person is politically inexperienced
3. Therefore, no politically inexperienced person will be a good President

Or how about this one:

1. All criminals are committing immoral and self-destructive acts
2. No one who is committing immoral and self-destructive acts is wise
3. Therefore, no one who is wise is a criminal

If you were in a conversation where you said that a criminal cannot be wise and someone said they don't understand why not the syllogism above could be useful for clarifying the concepts "wise person" and "criminal" and showing why we think one person cannot belong to both groups.

Copyright © 2016 by Joseph Wayne Gadway

***

I have this book on critical thinking but I have not read it yet.
I love "Dummies" books so I bet it is good!
Well worth the time to read.

If you want to support "Anything Smart" just click on book links like you see in this post and elsewhere on my blog.
Then "Anything Smart" will receive a commission when you make purchases at Amazon.
Thanks!

https://amzn.to/4a5ASQ1