The 12th valid syllogism to learn is FERIO.
This syllogism looks like this:
1. No M is a P.
2. Some S's are M's.
3. Therefore, some S's are not P's.
An example using words could look like this:
No one who lies is worthy of respect.
Some police officers lie.
Therefore, some police officers are not worthy of respect.
This is a valid syllogism so if the premises are true the conclusion must be true.
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Here is a book that should help us identify faulty reasoning so we can correct it:
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But are the premises true?
Look at the first premise. "No one who lies is worthy of respect." Is that really true?
Many people would distinguish "white" lies or "kind" lies from the really bad kind of lies. If someone has been sick for a long time and you try to encourage them by saying "You are looking better today!" even when they really don't, surely you would not be condemned for that kind of lie.
Maybe we could improve that first premise by changing it to "No one who lies under oath to get someone convicted of a crime is worthy of respect."
Now our example becomes:
No one who lies under oath to get someone convicted of a crime is worthy of respect.
Some police officers have lied under oath to get someone convicted of a crime.
Therefore, some police officers are not worthy of respect.
That seems stronger, doesn't it? What we just did illustrates one of the advantages of using syllogisms. By stating our conclusion and our premises very explicitly in syllogism form we make it easier to analyze our arguments, spot weaknesses, and make them stronger.
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